Master of Angels
by lokinorsedeity
Summary: Satoshi wasn't too happy when he found out that they were getting a new intern from America. How could he have known that she could help him? And why does Dark keep coming to her room at night? Why is Krad acting so strangely? Could there be more to this?
1. The new intern

**The new Intern**

"Hello Commander! Have you heard the news?" asked Detective Saehara.

"What news?"

"We're getting an intern from America today. I think the letter said her name was Kari."

"Why would we be getting an intern from America? I'm sure they have their own police that she can work for."

"It seems she's doing this for two classes. One for Criminal Justice and the other is Nihongo."

"You mean she's only coming here to work on her Japanese?"

"I think you'll understand better if you read the letter yourself."

Detective Saehara handed him the letter. He read it quietly and it quickly became apparent why the girl was coming to Japan. While her grades in Criminal Justice were in the honor rolls, she was flunking Japanese. If she didn't bring her grades up, she would lose her scholarship. Then Satoshi saw something that got his attention. _The letter was over a week old! _

"When is she coming?"

"She'll be starting tomorrow."

"Nani?! You mean she's already here?" said Satoshi in dismay.

"She's been here for two days already. I just forgot about it until today," said Detective Saehara.

"I'm going to speak to my father about this…" said Satoshi annoyed.

-----

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GOING TO BE IN MY DEPARTMENT?!" said Satoshi in anger.

"There's nothing you can do about it now son. Besides, I hear she's in the Archery club."

"And I should care about this WHY?"

"You didn't read the bottom of the letter did you? She personally wrote something that won my approval."

"And what could THAT possibly be?!"

"I said that I'd be more than happy to shoot this Phantom Dark down personally," said a female voice behind him.

"Wha…! Who're you?"

"I'm Kari, the new intern. Nice to meet ya," said Kari. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes; they seemed to be filled with evil, mischievous ideas…

"So what's the real reason you wanted to come here?" asked Satoshi suspiciously.

"Honestly…? Um, I can't say; too embarrassing for a first impression."

Satoshi narrowed his eyes at this; he was beginning to like her even less than before. He left his father's place with a visible scowl…this would NOT end well if he could help it.

-----

The next day, he entered the station in a foul mood; he was _not _looking forward to dealing with the new intern. What greeted him was something he didn't expect. Kari was getting everyone coffee or tea; whichever they preferred. She was getting along fine with everyone, despite the fact that she wasn't very good at Japanese.

"So what's your verdict on the intern? Do you think she can make the cut when we deal with Dark or not?" said Satoshi annoyed.

"I think she might find a way to catch him…her way of thinking is very different than what we're used to. That alone could give us an advantage."

"How different?"

"You'll have to see for yourself…it's hard to accurately describe it," shrugged Detective Saehara.

* * *

As it turned out, he had a chance to see first hand; Dark had sent yet another warning letter. Satoshi had company inside the museum while he waited for Dark. Kari wanted to see just _how_ good the Phantom Thief was. As the lights were cut, (which didn't bother Kari or Satoshi in the least), Dark made his appearance. The first thing Satoshi noticed about Kari was that she had an uncanny sense of her surroundings, especially in complete darkness. Before Dark could react, she had knocked him off his feet and pinned him with almost no effort.

**"You're heavier than usual, Chief Commander,"** commented Dark.

"You think so?" said Satoshi; Kari was close to snapping Dark in two for the comment.

**"I'm surprised that you were able to see me in this dark room."**

Satoshi sent Kari a sort of 'go ahead' look; she sensed it and grinned evilly.

"Who said he was the one who had you pinned?" she smirked.

**"Wha… You've got to be kidding!"** said Dark in disbelief.

"What's the matter? Didn't expect to get caught by a girl?" snickered Kari.

**"That explains why the weight was heavier…"** muttered Dark. (Too bad for him Kari has good hearing!)

"I heard you were good at being a thief, but they didn't mention anything about your _lack of common sense!_" growled Kari annoyed. Satoshi actually held back a laugh at this. Then something occurred to him. This was a little _too_ easy. Dark could never be caught this easily.

"Kari…something isn't right."

"I figured as much, actually. There is one way to see whether or not this is actually Dark. I've heard from the others that Dark doesn't like water."

"Actually, that's only because his familiar hates getting wet."

"Figures… Oh well, I hope the museum has a mop!" said Kari with a grin as she took a water bottle and poured its contents all over Dark. In less than a second, where Dark originally was, there was now a small, fluffy, floppy-eared rabbit like creature in his place.

"I knew something was wrong! That's Dark's familiar!" said Satoshi in irritation.

"If that's his familiar, then he's already taken the piece. Oh well…" said Kari as she got up off of the rabbit.

The lights came back on a few moments later. Satoshi noticed with interest that Kari blinked quite a bit before her sight returned to normal. Why this was so mystified the Commander. He brought it up as soon as they returned to the station. (Kari quickly cleaned up the watery mess.)

* * *

"Kari, I have a question about what happened back there…" said Satoshi carefully.

"Same here! According to the Chief Commander here, your night vision was better than his!" said Detective Saehara.

"Oh that? You told me earlier that Dark has an annoying tendency to cut the lights before he steals the piece. So I did a trick I learned off of one of my favorite shows; that's why I was able to see better than Satoshi."

"What trick? And what show are you talking about?!" said Satoshi, annoyed by her vague response.

"Well the myth was deemed 'plausible', so I thought it might work in real life."

"What are you talking about?!" said the others.

"You're kidding…you've never heard of Mythbusters?!" said Kari in surprise.

"Mythbusters? What is that?"

"It's this show I always watch on Wednesdays at 8. They test the myths…like whether or not you can make a concrete glider or whether Pop Rocks and Soda can actually kill you."

"I've never even heard of this show," said Satoshi annoyed.

"It's on the Discovery Channel…"

"You haven't given us an explanation," said Detective Saehara.

"Fine…there was this episode where they tested Pirate Myths…like the movie stunt where a person slows their fall by putting a knife through the sail and whether there was a practical reason for wearing an eye-patch on one eye."

"Go on…" Satoshi said impatiently.

"Well, it turns out that if you cover one of your eyes before being exposed to complete darkness that your night vision adjusts faster than if you didn't cover it. So I just closed my eyes two minutes before the designated time. That's why I could see better than he could."

"How do we know you're not making this up?"

"You don't believe me? Fine…I'll pull up the fan-site to prove that I'm not making this show up," said Kari as she entered the web address for the site. Much to their amazement, they found that she was indeed telling the truth; especially the part about the Pirate Episode. But there was another reason that Kari had better night vision other than her little trick.

"That still doesn't explain how you were able to…" started Detective Saehara.

"Well, a small part of my sight was from that trick with closing my eyes…but, I'm something of a night-owl, so I naturally have better night-vision."

"Night owls don't have better vision, even at night," said Satoshi in a matter-of-fact tone.

"They do if they always have the lights out before bed. I have something of a natural sense of direction in the dark because I prefer having the lights out…all of them."

"So you're more used to little or no lights at all," said Satoshi.

"Yup…so I have an advantage over you guys," said Kari with a grin.

-----

As Kari headed to her apartment, she never noticed a shadow following her from above. She entered the room, the lights were out and she easily navigated with no collisions. She took her bath and prepared to go to sleep. Right before she was about to fall asleep, she heard something that jolted her wide awake. She sensed someone was in the room. The intruder entered the bedroom and walked slowly towards the bed. She could feel the person's grin as they said, **"Impressive…I never thought someone like her could actually beat me when it comes to seeing in the dark…"**

She recognized the voice pretty quick; it was Phantom Dark! She felt the covers move; instinctively, she threw a punch to where she estimated the Phantom Thief would be. She clocked him so hard he stumbled and fell.

**"How did you…?!"**

"Never mess with someone who has a hard time sleeping in new surroundings! What're you doing in my apartment?!"

**"I came to see the girl who actually caught me and my familiar off guard. How were you able to beat me in a contest of night vision?"**

"I already explained this to the police, so I ain't explaining it to you! If I ever catch you in here again, you are soooo dead!" growled Kari. (Dark was alarmed that her growl was a little _too_ animal like!)

Dark made a hasty exit; Kari just stood there, pissed. She considered calling the cops, then decided against it. She'd tell them in the morning.

* * *

"WHAT! You mean Dark actually paid you a visit last night right after you went to sleep?!" said Detective Saehara in disbelief.

"I wish he hadn't…though he did learn a lesson when he tried to pull some perverted stunt," said Kari angrily.

"What lesson would that be?" asked Satoshi coolly. (School had ended early due to a half-day.)

"Never come into my room at night when I'm trying to sleep. The moment I felt the covers move…I clocked his sorry hide. I don't tolerate perverted jerks!" said Kari irritably.

"How hard?" Satoshi asked, interested.

"Hard enough that he stumbled and fell on his rear. He seemed pretty shocked that I could throw such a strong punch!" said Kari with evil satisfaction.

"What I don't get was why he was even there to begin with…" said Saehara confused.

"He came to find out how I beat him in a contest of night vision. I told him that I already explained it to you, so I wasn't going to repeat it to him."

"Nice… You might actually be worth having in this department…" said Satoshi.

"Gee, thanks…" said Kari sarcastically.

* * *

Satoshi went home and did his usual routine; with one small detail. He was actually thinking about the intern who not only pinned Dark with disturbing ease, but actually clocked him so hard that he stumbled and fell! He sensed that she had something that she was hiding from him. He was determined to find out why she was able to do things that the regular officers couldn't. He went to bed, his mind filled with questions and very few answers.

He woke up, got ready and went to school as usual. But he never anticipated the stunt his step-father would pull that day! He left the building after the day ended and was greeted with his father waiting patiently to pick him up. He entered the car; he was on full alert and was very tense. Something was up.

"Satoshi, its been far too long since I've seen you!" said his father in a fake cheerful voice.

"What do you want, father?" said Satoshi annoyed.

"I just felt like picking you up, seeing as how I was going to be in the area when school let out."

"Drop the act."

"Did the girl actually pin Dark with the lights out?" said Hiwatari, finally getting to the point.

"Yes…she was able to adjust to the change of light faster than either of us and caught him off-guard. It must have shook him up, because he paid her a late night visit before she went to bed that night."

"And…?"

"She clocked him before he could react."

"She pinned him and clocked him?! How is it that she can do things that you couldn't do even if you tried?" said Hiwatari suspiciously.

"She's different than we are."

"I'm making her a permanent member of your division. If she can capture and successfully hit Dark that easily, then his days are numbered," said Hiwatari with an evil look in his eyes. Satoshi quickly left the car as soon as it approached his apartment; he didn't trust his step-father, he never had. Dark sent yet another warning letter the next day. But what would happen _after _the theft would change his opinion of his new co-worker.


	2. Kari's aim

**Kari's aim**

After Dark stole yet another artwork, Kari headed home tiredly. She did the usual routine; bath, change into night clothes, then bed. Or so she thought. As she walked past the balcony window, she noticed something that immediately caught her attention. _Phantom Dark was outside her window watching her!_

"What the…? If he's spying on me…!" she growled. Sure enough, as she walked toward her room, his eyes followed her. That alone confirmed her suspicion. She located her bow and arrows and silently walked toward a window that was within visual range of the Phantom Thief. She quietly opened the window; Dark didn't even notice.

As she cocked the arrow, she calculated the range and let loose. The arrow flew into the night and…into Dark's leg. He yelped in pain and surprise; his eyes widened when he realized she had actually hit him with an arrow! Then he realized she was about to shoot a second arrow; he took his leave quickly before she could hit him again.

"That should take care of him for tonight. If he comes again tomorrow…" said Kari as she put her weapon down. She went to bed without incident.

-----

"_Dark?! What happened to your leg? It's bleeding!" said Emiko in horror._

**"_I got careless and someone managed to hit me with an arrow."_**

"_Who did this?" said Emiko angrily._

**"_It was my fault for not noticing the window had opened. I didn't even realize that someone had shot an arrow until I felt it sink into my leg."_**

"_Why would someone shoot at you with an arrow?" asked Kosuke._

**"…"**

"_You stay still while I bandage this up," said Emiko firmly. Dark visibly winced as she tied the bandage securely around his leg. He was secretly grateful that tomorrow there wouldn't be any school. By the time Daisuke went to class, the wound will have healed. He went up to Daisuke's room, switched back with the red-head, and fell asleep._

-----

"You're kidding! Dark paid _another_ visit to you last night?!" said Saehara in surprise.

"He was staring at me through my window. I took my bow and arrow and shot him. He got lost pretty quick once he realized I was going to shoot another one."

"Did the arrow make it's mark?"

"I was aiming for his ankle, but it was too high. I did manage to hit him though!" said Kari with a smirk.

"Why does Dark keep appearing at your apartment? It makes no sense…" murmured Satoshi.

"If I knew, then maybe I could stop him from showing up!" said Kari in defeat.

"Do you think he'll show up again tonight?" asked Satoshi suddenly.

"Who knows?"

"In that case, would you mind if I stayed with you tonight and see whether or not this person you shot at was really Dark?"

"Sure…why not?" shrugged Kari.

* * *

As if on cue, Dark _did _appear that night. Satoshi was mildly surprised; Dark had a bandage on his left leg. So far Kari's tale rang true. This time, Kari did something different. She opened the door to the balcony with a scowl as she said, "Why do you keep coming here?!"

**"Because you're interesting…"**

"GET LOST CREEP. I didn't get along with perverts back home, and I don't get along with them here!"

**"Make me."**

Kari drew an arrow and prepared to fire. Only this time, he was ready. He shot at her bow; cleanly splitting the bow in two. Her eyes widened…and then she started throwing things at him. (None hit the mark.)

**"Well, well…seems little Ms. Night-Owl can't throw!"** laughed Dark amused.

"Shut up, Phantom Dork!" growled Kari. (Satoshi once again held back a laugh; the name was all-too-appropriate!)

Dark avoided the objects with ease. Kari's rage kept growing every moment he remained. It grew so much that eventually, her hands began to glow a violent crimson red. Satoshi immediately sensed a surge of magical power; then he felt a powerful burst as Kari threw something at Dark…only this one wasn't some random object. _Kari had unconsciously let loose a fireball of magical energy!_

Dark's attention immediately went on the fireball that came flying at him. He went to the side, thinking that would help him avoid it. GUESS AGAIN. The ball turned back to his direction faster than he could think; he felt the power behind the blast in full. He plummeted from the sky; he narrowly dodged falling out of the air. He had his familiar took him straight home; Emiko was _livid_!

-----

"Kari…what did you…?" started Satoshi when her knees buckled. He went to her side; she was barely conscious. He managed to help her inside; by the time she was on the couch she was unconscious. Satoshi was still shaken from her blast. By morning, she was still weak, but conscious.

"Ow…what happened?" she groaned painfully.

"You just nailed Phantom Dark with a very powerful blast of magical energy," said Satoshi bluntly.

"WHAT! No way!" said Kari in surprise.

"You've never done that before?"

"No…I didn't even realize what I doing until you told me. I can't believe I used magic…" said Kari, still stunned.

"Why aren't you more freaked?"

"I've always been a fan of magic. So the fact that I used it without realizing it doesn't exactly faze me. Why would I be horrified?" Kari said confused.

"You really aren't normal, are you…"

"Not if I can help it, no."

"Okaaay…"

"So how bad was my aim?" said Kari, changing the subject.

"At first it looked like he dodged it by going to the side…that is, until it abruptly changed direction and hit him dead on."

"Nice… So why weren't you scared by the blast?"

"I'm used to magical energy…my other half uses it all the time without my consent."

"I'm not gonna ask. So what now?"

"Right now I want some answers. Why were you able to blast Dark with magic?"

"Dunno…I guess my rage turned to magic."

"What I want to know is why now?"

"I've never been that furious before… Phantom Dork has permanently gotten on my bad side. Do you know what that means?"

"I have some idea…"

"It means that from now on, whenever I see Dork, I'm going to shoot to kill."

"Reminds me of someone I know…" joked Satoshi.

"Wow…so Mr. Serious has a sense of humor. Never would have guessed that," laughed Kari.

"Don't make too much out of it. Right now I'm more concerned about that blast. If this is the first time you've used magic, then there's a good chance it could come out at the worst time and will be out of your control."

"In other words, you're afraid that my power will get out of hand and kill people."

"You catch on quick."

"I may have a short attention-span, but when something catches my interest, I put an actual effort into it."

"What do you… never mind. I don't think Dark will return for a week at least. It'll take him a while to recover after that."

"Good… that gives me a week to get a new bow."

"I'll tell everyone that you used too much energy to send Dark packing."

"Thanks… Right now I need to find my 'sanity' medicine…" she said with a moan.

"Sanity medicine?"

"Advil. I have a major headache…I haven't had one this bad since the last time I was at my older sister's house and spent time with my two nephews and niece."

"What does the bottle look like?"

"It was round and the cap is slanted all around. It says Advil on the side."

"I'll see if I can find it. I recommend you lie down and rest."

"Thanks…" she murmured. Satoshi found it shortly and brought her a glass of water. She took two and waited for it to take effect. As soon as it did, she passed out. Satoshi closed the door and locked it. Since it was a sliding door, he knew Dark would have a difficult time getting it open.

After Satoshi left, Kari waited an hour before getting some ice for her headache which still hadn't gone away. Five minutes later she felt a lot better. She lay on her bed and grumbled, "No wonder I felt so bad…I was overheated again!"

* * *

The next morning…

"So how are you feeling, Kari?" asked Satoshi.

"A lot better. Seems I overheated last night."

"Overheated?"

"It means that I was close to running a fever. Whenever it gets too warm I overheat and get a massive headache."

"Whatever. So when do you want to start working on your control?"

"In about 30 minutes would be a safe bet," said Kari.

"Why's that? Did you take more of your 'sanity pills' again?"

"Nah…that's just the rough estimate for how long it takes for my meds to kick in," laughed Kari.

"What meds?"

"Forget I said anything. I'll be ready soon enough. So what're we gonna do first?"

"First we're going to work on your control; then we'll work on defensive."

"Control then defense? Not a very good exercise," commented Kari.

"Well you're still a novice when it comes to magic, so you can't exactly comment on what training you'll do," retorted Satoshi.

"I'm no novice at magic! I know more about magic than you think; I'm just a newbie at using it," said Kari.

"So you claim…"

"Hey! I've always had an interest in magic and the supernatural! Just because I've never used it doesn't make me a novice!"

"Just because you know a lot doesn't mean you know everything."

"Maybe not, but you're no expert at teaching others to use it either," retorted Kari irritably.

"It's been thirty minutes. Let's go."

"Bite. Me. Brat."

"What did you just call me?!"

"A brat. You think you know everything about the world around you and won't open your mind to the possibilities. That's the reason why you've never been able to catch Dark!" said Kari angrily.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you have NO imagination. That's your problem; without any imagination, there's no creativity, no inventive possibilities. You're all statistics and no chance. Statistics and facts are fine in a controlled environment, I'll give you that. But out in the real world, hard facts and numbers can't make the cut."

"Could you rephrase that? I can't understand what you're trying to say."

"Fine, then let me make this as clear as possible. Numbers, equations, even statistics work best in a controlled environment where there aren't any new variables suddenly added to the mix. But in an _un_controlled environment, like out in the field, there effectiveness drops exponentially. You have to adapt to fit the situation, and based on what I've seen, you have a difficult time doing that."

"Are you saying I can't handle unexpected outcomes?!"

"I'm saying you're too close-minded. If you try to at least open your mind, then maybe Dark wouldn't beat you all the time."

"Whatever," said Satoshi.

"He-he-he…seems I've got you," snickered Kari.

"Can we just get this over with? If you keep this up I'm going to need some of your 'sanity' pills!" grumbled Satoshi.

"Keep this up and I'll die laughing!" chuckled Kari.


	3. Training with magic

**Training with Magic!**

An hour later (in Satoshi's backyard)…

"All right, first you need to summon a ball of energy in your hand."

"WRONG. I can't do that on the first try!"

"What're you talking about?! You said it yourself that you've always loved magic! So why can't you pull it off on the first try?"

"I've always love magic, but never _used _it. How can I perform magic if I've never done it before?!"

"So basically you're useless."

"Shut up, Blue-boy!" growled Kari.

"Don't call me Blue-boy!!!!"

"Don't you have some homework to do or something?!"

"I always do that in class. I never have homework."

"Et tu?"

"Isn't that from…?"

"Yes. It's from that stupid play! I didn't know you have the same attitude towards homework that I do!"

"What do you mean?"

"All through my school years, especially high school, I have never taken my work home. I try to finish it during class. If I don't, then it slips my mind and I completely forget all about it."

"So in other words, if you don't complete it in class then you don't do it at all," said Satoshi.

"Pretty much."

"What time is it? …Geez. We'll have to pick this up tomorrow. I have to get to work," said Satoshi.

"You've got a job?!"

"Yeah…part-time."

"Yikes…I've never had to get a job, even when I started college!"

"Whatever… I'll see you tomorrow after school gets out."

"Okay…see ya tomorrow then."

* * *

After she left his house, she went straight back to her apartment. She had two choices; either she try to connect with her magic all alone or she deal with Satoshi and his negative attitude. She went inside, locked the door, and sat down on the bed. She then just let her short attention-span do the rest. As her mind became a complete blank, she could feel something within her pulsing. She mentally reached out to it, hoping that it would react to her touch.

The pulsing sensation grew; she knew that she had found it. Her magic. As she went towards the light which had begun to envelop her, she felt a whirl of emotions. Anger, fury, fear, and many others which she couldn't identify. When she attempted to take hold of it; the force jolted out of her hands. She was worried that she had done something wrong, that her magic would forever remain beyond her reach. Instead, it slowly began to take form.

Her mind was completely clear and focused on the figure that was coming to be. But the moment it finally took a visual form, she was jolted back to reality by someone shaking her. She blinked several times before she realized that a certain thief was in her room, _again_.

-----

"What the hell do you want, Phantom Dork?!" she growled angrily.

**"I followed the concentration of magic to you. I was worried, so I tried to bring you back!"**

"You moron! I was meditating!"

**"You're playing with something that you could never begin to understand! If you continue then you could die!"**

"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!!!" she roared as she threw a punch. He narrowly evaded it and quickly backed away.

**"You shouldn't play with magic; you'll hurt others if you keep this up!"** Dark warned.

"Don't count on it, you Pervert! I know more about magic than you might think!"

**"Kari, wasn't it? Listen, I'm only trying to protect you!"**

"I'm impressed; you actually remembered my name. _Now get lost!!!!!!_"

**"Don't play with magic. Its power is more than a human can handle,"** said Dark as he left the apartment.

Kari sat there, angry and in the mood to shoot something. She then noticed her hands were glowing! As she watched the glow, it slowly faded and she was in a dark room once again.

_

* * *

It seems that Dark actually did something useful for once. He helped me find how to access my magic. Now I just need to connect with it again; but how to keep Dark and Satoshi from sensing me?_

-----

Kari sat on her bed, silently thinking of ways to cloak her magic. Then she had an idea…though she doubted it would work. (That, and she knew that it would make one huge mess to clean up!)

She got up and got some salt from the cabinet; she looked at the time and decided to attempt this later. She went onto her computer and logged on to her college's online courses. She completed the weeks work and logged off. She then headed to where Satoshi had taken her the day before; he was just about to go get her when she showed up. She grinned at his surprise.

"Bet ya didn't expect to see me so soon, did ya?" she smirked.

"Are you ready to try and access your magic?" he said calmly.

"I had some luck last night…but there was an annoying snag."

"What kind of 'snag'?"

"The one with purple hair and black wings."

"Dark? What happened?"

"I was meditating and he interrupted me. I had almost successfully connected with my magic too…"

"So he interrupted you at the wrong time. But how could he have known…?"

"He said he followed a concentration of magic. Apparently, he seems to think that I can't handle magic."

"So he said you were dabbling with a world you didn't understand. I happen to agree with him on that point."

"Shut up. Let's get started already!" she grumbled.

"Fine. Now first you gather a ball of energy in your hand…" started Satoshi.

It took her two tries to complete that task. Then they moved on to a more difficult task; controlling the energy she gathered. The tasks continued for nearly two months; Kari kept getting better and better…much to Satoshi's dismay. Dark continued to bother Kari…and he kept getting his ass handed to him!

Things seemed to be great for Kari. She was getting along with everyone great, her magic lessons with Satoshi were moving faster than he liked, and Dark still hadn't learned his lesson. Everything seemed fine…that is, until Satoshi's step-father gave him the Rutile of Grief! She was awaiting Dark's arrival next to Satoshi, and sure enough, an 'officer' came in to report.

-----

"Dark, did you really think that we wouldn't notice that ridiculous purple hair under that hat, or are you just plain stupid?" said Kari amused.

"It's probably the latter," commented Satoshi.

**"Violence is not my style,"** said Dark coolly, **"Now then, hand over the real one."**

As Dark reached for the Rutile, which had been hidden under Satoshi's shirt, Kari heard a voice come from nowhere saying, _**"I've waited a long time for this moment."**_

"Who…who said that?" said Kari in surprise.

"Don't do it Krad! I can do it myself!" pleaded Satoshi in horror. Before Kari could speak, Satoshi hit a button that brought down the metal gates.

"I've captured the Phantom Thief! I got Dark!" yelled Satoshi. The two officers in the front burned rubber and drove off; Satoshi looked like he was in immense pain.

**"You don't really think you've captured me like this, do you?"**

**"_Of course not!"_**

"No Krad!"

**"_Master Satoshi, do you know the reason your father gave that Rutile to you?"_**

"Satoshi, what's going on?!" said Kari in concern.

**"_The Rutile of Grief! Release my magic on Dark!"_**

A strange glow emitted from the ring; ropes of golden light surrounded Dark. Kari looked in concern as she could only watch Satoshi struggle under the burden from using magic. She could tell he was fighting to keep control over something she couldn't see. Dark was being pounded onto the sides of the truck. He smirked and said that it didn't hurt at all.

**"_Heh…you must be kidding. Then how about we get serious?"_**

-----

At this, Kari instinctively blocked Satoshi. Her eyes held a fierce glow as she said, "I don't know who's behind this, but if you're going to use someone as a medium, then use me instead!"

"Kari…what're you…?!" said Satoshi in horror.

"I can't stand by while someone uses you as a toy. Let me be the medium instead," she said calmly.

**"Are you insane?! Krad won't hesitate to kill you!"** said Dark in shock.

"What's your point, Phantom Dork? I don't care who this 'Krad' is, but if he's as evil as you two claim he is, then I say bring it on!"

**"_So you think you can handle my magic, do you? Let's see how you handle this!"_**

-----

When 'Krad' said this, a blinding light struck Kari. She couldn't hear Satoshi's cry of horror. All she knew was that something about the light was very familiar. She stood as the light dimmed down, and she smirked.

"Don't tell me that was the best you can do."

**"Impossible…how can she still be alive after that?!"**

"Beats me. All I know is that the light was familiar. Don't ask me why, it just is," said Kari with an evil grin. Then the ring began to glow yet again; Kari immediately grabbed the Rutile from Satoshi and was enveloped in a golden light! Satoshi collapsed from exhaustion; he looked at Kari in shock. Suddenly Dark was struck with a second blast of bright golden light; he stood in amazement.

**"I'm not feeling any pain!"**

"What…what just happened?!" said Satoshi in shock.

**"Heh…even if it is a replica, the thought is real!"** said Dark as he held up his own Rutile which began to glow with a blue light; Kari stood there stunned as the golden light diminished to nothing.

**"_Master Satoshi, stand back!"_**said Krad as Dark was engulfed with a blue light, _**"Master Satoshi!"**_

* * *

When the blue light struck Satoshi, the truck crashed. Two winged figures flew out of the wreckage. One was Dark…but the other was a blond-haired, amber-eyed angel known as Krad.

**"_So we finally meet again, Dark."_**

**"Don't talk to me as if you were a friend!"**

**"_I won't let you escape!"_** said Krad as he began shooting light-arrows from the Rutile. Dark narrowly evaded his onslaught; it was around that time that the phantom thief noticed something shocking. _Satoshi was climbing out of the wrecked truck!_

**"But…that's impossible! Krad's Tamer is Satoshi! If he's there then…?"** said Dark in confusion.

"_If Satoshi is down there, then the human Krad is using as a medium is Kari,"_ said a familiar voice from behind. He turned in time to see Krad coming straight at him.

**"But how?! How are you able to use the girl if your Tamer is down there?!"**

**"_How should I know?"_** snorted Krad.

_-----_

_While Krad and Dark battled it out, Kari was deep in meditation. She stayed calm as the being known as Krad used her to attack Dark…though she really didn't hold it against him. She reached for her magic to see if she could help the angelic being attack the Phantom Thief. It was then that she realized the figure…the embodiment of her magic…was finally visible to her! Before her stood what appeared to be an angel with long blond hair and golden eyes. _

"_What're you supposed to be, the Angel of Mercy?" she snorted._

**"_Hardly."_**

"_Who…who are you?"_

**"_My name is Krad."_**

"_I don't understand…if you're Krad then how…?"_

**"_I don't know how you were able to switch places with Satoshi-sama, but if you get in my way I will kill you."_**

"_Get in the way of what?"_

**"_Killing Dark Mousy."_**

"_Wait…you want to KILL that obnoxious Phantom Dork?!"_

**"_Who is Phantom Dork?"_**

"_That's my name for the idiot you're trying to kill."_

**"_Interesting nickname… What is your name?"_**

"_You can call me Kari. If you want some extra firepower to shoot that perverted creep out of the sky, feel free to use my magic!" she grinned. She held back a laugh at the look on Krad's face when she said this. He shot her a mixed look, then turned to continue his onslaught on Dark. She felt a sharp pain as he shot arrows of pure energy; he was using her own magic to attack Dark. She withstood the pain; Krad seemed mildly impressed that she did not cry out._


	4. Krad's ally

**Krad's ally**

**"Let the girl go Krad! She doesn't know what she's doing!" said Dark as the arrow shot at him with disturbing accuracy.**

**"_She knows exactly what she's doing. She willingly allowed me to use her own magic to kill you,"_** retorted Krad annoyed.

**"You lie! No one in their right mind would help you!"**

_-----_

_Krad, do you mind if I answer his little comeback?_

_**Be my guest, Kari-san.**_

-----

"_You don't know who you're dealing with if you think I'm nuts, Dork. I enjoy being different!"_

**"What…! Kari, why are you helping that maniac?!"**

_-----_

_**He has a valid point. Why are you helping me?**_

_If I had to choose between helping the psychotic angel or the perverted, egotistical, self-centered, idiotic Phantom Thief, then I'd always help the angel. _

_**You really don't like Dark, do you.**_

_I HATE PERVERTED CREEPS LIKE HIM!!!!!_

-----

**"_It seems she has a very LOW opinion of you."_**

**"What are you talkin' about?! The only girl who dislikes me that much is Riku Harada!"**

"_Guess again, CREEP."_

**"Wha…! Would you stop doing that?! I'm beginning to have a hard time telling who I'm talking to!"**

_-----_

_Don't you just LOVE head-games, Krad-kun?_

_**They are amusing, I'll give you that…but DON'T call me Krad-kun again!**_

_You're no fun at all…_

**…**

-----

As Dark evaded, blocked and countered their attacks, Satoshi was on the ground, still trying to figure out what the hell was going on! One minute Krad was taking over his body, the next he was inside Kari, and she was _helping _him! It was one shock after another today.

Roughly around an hour after Krad and Kari began their attack on Dark, Kari was quickly losing her energy with each attack. When she was at her limit, Krad was plummeting to retrieve the Rutile.

_-----_

_Krad stop! I don't think I can take much more of this! (Even though I'd rather kill this jerk…)_

_**Very well…I will allow Dark Mousy to take the Rutile. It is a pity that I cannot stay inside of you. Satoshi-sama refuses to let me loose!**_

_Let me put it this way…have you ever considered going into someone's dreams to contact them?_

_**Not really.**_

_Well, if you can pull that off with me, then consider it Open Season for Phantom Dark insults!_

_**We shall meet in you dreams then…**_

-----

"Kari…Kari! Can you hear me?" said Satoshi in worry.

"Ow…please tell me that wasn't some irritating dream…" she said with a groan.

"Unfortunately, that was real. I don't know how you were able to become Krad's medium, but in a way I'm glad you pulled it off. How did you manage to convince him not to kill you?"

"When he realized we had something in common, he decided I was worth keeping alive. He even stopped his attacks after he lost that Rutile."

"What…! That doesn't sound like him," said Satoshi.

"Maybe he's not as evil as you think he is."

"You _are_ nuts…"

"Thanks. I try my best," laughed Kari.

* * *

That night, Kari had a strange dream…though she was anticipating it. Krad stood before her, his wings weren't visible. He was mildly amused as he said, _**"Tell me…why do you not fear or hate me like my Tamer does?"**_

"Humans fear that which they do not understand."

**"_True…why is it that you are so different from everyone?"_**

"Conformity is for the weak-minded…I'd rather be weird than boring. Besides…I always liked demons more than those goody-two-shoes that they show in churches."

**"_You are the first human who actually agrees with me on so many things. In four hundred years I've never met anyone like you…"_**

"Heh…thanks. I do my best to be weird. So how irritating was Phantom Dork before you met me?"

**"_I still don't understand why you like me yet despise Dark."_**

"I hate perverts like him. I had to deal with jerks like Dark all through high-school. They never left me alone; they always seemed to enjoy annoying me."

**"_That explains a few things…but you didn't answer my question."_**

"Well…I guess it's because you didn't act like an ass when I first saw you. You were actually interesting."

**"_So the only reason you are so friendly towards me is because I didn't act like Dark?"_**

"Pretty much."

**"_How long have you been around Satoshi-sama?"_**

"I'd say roughly around three, maybe four months."

**"_Don't get too close with Master Satoshi. Why did you take the Rutile from him before?"_**

"I kinda consider the little runt as a little brother. I've always been the little sister, so I wanted to see what it was like to have the roles reversed."

**"_So you were only acting as the protective older sister… how amusing. What I don't understand is how you were able to take me from Satoshi."_**

"I think…I think it's because I've seen you before. But I never got a good look because of Dark."

**"_What do you mean?"_**

"When I first attempted meditating alone, I watched as my magic started to take form. But before I get a good look at the figure, I get jolted awake by that idiot thief. I remember that it had gold hair and pure white wings."

**"_You're joking right? You think that the figure that you saw before Dark brought you back to reality is me?!"_**

"How else do you explain it? If the figure I saw really was you, then it would make some sense that I was able to act as a medium for you."

**"_I guess it does make some sense… But why would I be the form for YOUR magic?"_**

"I don't know… Do you think it might be possible that because we have so much in common, that we share a link of some sort?"

**"_Who knows. You'll need a better reason for me to spare your life."_**

"Who willingly let you use their magic?"

**"_You."_**

"Who has actually gotten along with you and even shares a common dislike of the same idiot?"

**"_You again."_**

"Who enjoys tormenting others with mind-games as much as you?"

**"_You. I guess we do share enough to let you live. You are definitely more accepting than Satoshi-sama."_**

"He's too close-minded for his own good. Few people have the ability to accept things that can't be explained. By the time a child reaches their teenage years, they close their minds to the supernatural."

**"_In short, you accept things that normal people can't. Why?"_**

"I was never a fan of conformity. To conform means to lose your individuality…and I don't think that I could handle that."

**"_It seems I must leave. We will speak again,"_** said Krad as he began to fade.

* * *

"Hey, Kari! Time to wake up!" said Satoshi.

"Ugh…I have four words for you, Satoshi."

"What?"

"Not A Morning Person."

"If you don't wake up, you'll be late."

"You were warned…" she grumbled as she got up. At first, she didn't notice anything strange. Then she realized that she wasn't in her apartment!

"Where am I?!"

"My house…I figured it would be safer than taking you back to your place," said Satoshi.

"Because of Dark, right?"

"That…and I want to talk to you," said Satoshi calmly.

"I'm going to guess that this has something to do with your other half, Krad."

"How were you able to take him from me? And why did you let him use _your _magic?"

"When I was meditating and trying to find my magic, I saw someone…the figure was almost all white with wings and golden hair. It was around that point that a certain pervert woke me up!"

"So Krad took the form of your magic?"

"That's the only explanation I can think of."

"Why did you let Krad in? Why didn't you resist him?"

"Once I found out he was actually trying to _kill _that Phantom Dork, I realized we shared something in common. We both despise Dark."

"That still doesn't explain why you even took him. He's my curse, not yours!"

"Satoshi, you still don't get it, do you? You haven't figured out why I took the Rutile from you or allowed Krad to work through me and not you…"

"…"

"Come on, let's get going. We're not gonna catch Dark sitting around here!"

-----

"So what went wrong last night, Kari-san?" asked Saehara.

"Beats me…all I remember is some fancy light show and then a blank…"

"Oh well…even though he still got away with the Rutile, we shouldn't let this discourage us. Let's get back to work!"

"Hai!"

-----

After the final bell rang at the middle school, Satoshi immediately headed home. He made it half-way before he suddenly decided to see Kari. Something about her was bothering him…and he had to get to the bottom of the mystery!

He knocked at the door loudly…no answer. He tried again and still no answer; that was when he was gripped by a sudden thought that Krad had gotten to her. With the door locked, he couldn't find out for sure so he went home. He never noticed that the door was already unlocked…or that he had a visitor waiting for him.

"Boo."

"What the…?! Kari?!"

"Yup…I figured you still wanted to talk so I stopped by. I'm guessing you went to my apartment?"

"I was worried Krad had gotten to you…or worse."

"Krad won't kill me…why do you fear and hate him so much?"

"He…he's made my life a living hell. I can't get close to anyone or anything because he would kill them. And he's always trying to take control," said Satoshi as he sat down next to her.

"Why would he kill someone just for getting close to you?"

"He believes that I belong to him…and he calls me Satoshi-sama all the time. He acts like he's the only one who cares about me, but I know all his words are nothing but lies meant to fool me."

"So that's why you won't let Daisuke get too close…"

"I don't want anyone to get hurt, so I keep everyone at arms length."

"Please tell me that's the reason you don't like your step-father…" said Kari with a hopeful tone.

"I wish… He's always trying to_ bring _Krad out, even though it takes everything for me to keep him in. That's why he gave me that accursed Rutile!"

"Great…another idiot trying to control their kid. I suspected your step-father was like mine, and in an annoying way he is."

"What's your father like?"

"Let me put it this way…I'd rather be nice to Dark than to deal with him! He thinks he knows what's best for me…and has this tendency to try and talk me into thinking his way. But he refuses to see me for who I am."

"He doesn't sound as bad as mine."

"He's an ass…"

"At least yours doesn't continuously try to bring out your psychotic homicidal alter ego."

"I'd rather have the alter ego than my own father. At least then I wouldn't have to listen to the same argument over and over again, no matter how pointless it is."

"Looks like we shared more than I thought…both of us have a father we could do without and we don't like Dark," said Satoshi with a weak grin. That was when a certain blond decided to interrupt their little talk.

* * *

"Krad…NO!" said Satoshi through the pain.

"He's trying to get out again, isn't he?"

"Kari, you have to get as far away from me as you can! If I know Krad, he's going to kill you for becoming too close!" said Satoshi in concern. That was when she did something that completely caught both Tamer and Angel off-guard. She gently held him, despite the fact that Krad was about to kill her…


	5. Bonds of trust and pain

**Bonds of trust and pain**

"Kari, what're you…?!"

"If Krad wants to hurt you, then I want you to know you're not alone. I don't care if Krad _does _want to kill me…I can't stand to see you in pain like this, Satoshi," said Kari calmly.

"Why're you doing this? Don't you understand?! Krad will kill you if you stay!"

"I don't want you to be alone anymore, squirt. I'm tired of standing on the sidelines while you get hurt."

"Kari…"

"You're not going to be alone anymore, Sato-kun…"

Satoshi was in disbelief…why wouldn't she leave? He'd never had anyone who would stay with him despite the fact that Krad wanted them dead. As she tightened her grip, he reluctantly leaned into her embrace…the pain from his back quickly began to fade. It seemed that Krad would let her live…for the time being at least. Before he realized it, he had fallen asleep in her arms.

"Sweet dreams, otouto…" whispered Kari gently as he fell fast asleep.

* * *

At first Satoshi wondered why he felt so warm…then he remembered that Krad tried to break free and he lost consciousness! He also recalled that Kari had stayed with him, despite his warning. He was suddenly concerned that Krad had killed her like he had his mother. He was about to get out of bed when he heard a chuckled behind him. He turned to see…Kari with a grin.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up, Sato-chan," said Kari with a gentle laugh.

"Kari, you're still alive? But…how?"

"I guess Krad gave up. He must have been too shocked to keep trying to take over for now!" she grinned.

"Why would you stay even with Krad about to kill you?!"

"I told you before. I can't bear to see you in so much pain; you're like a little brother to me, Sato-chan."

"…"

"You're going to be okay now…you're not alone anymore."

-----

At this Satoshi began to fall asleep again…he couldn't keep his eyes open for some reason. That was when he heard a snort from Krad.

_Krad…why didn't you hurt Kari?_

_**I would have if her damn aura hadn't overpowered me! I don't like her getting so close to you, Satoshi-sama…you know you are my everything.**_

_So that's why she wasn't killed…_

-----

Kari caught him gently and covered him up with the covers. Satoshi lay in her lap on the bed…fast asleep and looking more peaceful then he had in many years. She turned when she heard a familiar voice from behind.

**"_Don't think that I won't kill you sooner or later. You won this round, but next time you won't be so lucky!"_**

"Why didn't you come out, Krad-kun?"

**"_Your damn aura overpowered mine."_**

"Tell you what; if you really want to come out, then you can use me and not him. I don't particularly mind so long as you don't hurt Satoshi."

**"_Feh…so you didn't learn your lesson from the other night. I hope you can handle having my wings!"_** said Krad before he vanished.

-----

**"Dai, I'm worried about her…"**

You're talking about that girl, Kari, right?  
**Yeah…I'm afraid that Krad will kill her after she took him from Satoshi and let him use her.**

She didn't seem that afraid of Krad, Dark.

**She doesn't know him like we do. And she wasn't in her apartment last night!**

How do you…? Dark, don't tell me you went there again while I was asleep!  
**…**

You jerk! You know I hate it when you do that!

**Look, I'm just concerned that she'll get hurt because she doesn't know what she's doing. Can you think of anywhere she might be?**

Have you tried Satoshi's place? He said that he let her stay there after the Rutile was taken.

**Let's go.**

You better not try to pull the same stunt you did with Riku!

**…**

Dark!

------

She heard an all-too-familiar flap of wings nearby. She looked out side to see Dark landing and about to open the door. She tensed…somehow Satoshi sensed this and wearily opened his eyes. They were met with a pair of crimson, cat-like eyes that he knew all too well.

**"Well this is a surprise. I never thought I'd ever see you sleeping on the job, Commander!" **said Dark with a snicker.

"Dark! What're you doing in my…?!"

**"I was worried that little Kari-chan might have had another encounter with your more irritating half. Instead I find you asleep in her lap!" **said Dark with a laugh.

"Get lost, pervert! Or would you rather deal with both Krad _and _Satoshi?!" said Kari coldly.

**"Yeah right…Satoshi is Krad's tamer! There's no way they can both be out at the same time!"** scoffed Dark.

"Wanna bet?"

"_Kari, what're you…?"_ hissed Satoshi. All he got was a wink and a feeling that she was about to do something he wouldn't like.

_

* * *

Oy, Krad-kun!_

_**I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!!!!**_

_Guess who's in Sato-kun's apartment._

_**Dark.**_

_How'd you like to shock Phantom Dork?_

_**It would be my pleasure…though I doubt Satoshi-sama will like what you want him to do.**_

_Who said you were going to appear through Sato-kun? I told you earlier that I don't mind if you use me instead of him, so long as you don't hurt Sato-kun._

_**Are you…?**_

_You can use my body instead of Sato's. I bet that'll shock that idiot thief Dork!_

* * *

At first nothing seemed to happen…then she felt a jolt of pain from her back. She suspected that this was what Satoshi had almost gone through earlier. She acted like she felt nothing, and when she saw both their eyes widen in shock, she knew that the wings had finally shown. Her grin didn't calm Satoshi down in the least…he just grew more and more upset as Krad took over her body instead of his.

"Kari…" whispered Satoshi in worry.

_-----_

_I told Dark that he'd have to deal with you and Sato-kun. Remember Krad, you can use me ONLY so long as you don't hurt Satoshi!_

_**Very well…I guess I could agree to that.**_

-----

**"_We meet again, Dark Mousy,"_** said Krad coldly.

**"Impossible! How did you take over her body without the Rutile?!"**

**"_She said I could use her instead as long as I didn't hurt Master Satoshi."_**

Before Dark or Satoshi could say anything, Krad attacked the thief. Dark would have stayed if Daisuke hadn't forced him to leave.

-----

**Dai, what'd you think you're doing?! We have to stop Krad!**

NO! Satoshi knows what to do! The best thing we can do is leave and regroup!

**But what if he attacks Satoshi after we leave?!**

You heard what he said! She only gave him permission to use her body as long as he _didn't_ hurt Satoshi! I'm pretty sure if you hadn't shown up, he never would have come out in the first place.

**…**

-----

"Kari! What did you think you were doing?! Krad could have hurt you!" said Satoshi in worry.

"No he wouldn't have. Not if he wanted to keep a willing host around…" said Kari with a shrug. (Krad re-gave her control once the Phantom Thief had left.)

"Why did you let him take over?!"

"It was the easiest way to get rid of Dark. Besides, he's only allowed to use me so long as you don't get hurt," said Kari. She sat on the bed wearily…allowing Krad to use her had taken more than she originally thought.

"Kari, please don't let Krad use you anymore; if you do, then…!" started Satoshi. She cut him short.

"Look, I get along better with Krad than I do Dark. And he has agreed to leave you alone so long as he can use me instead!"

"But…!"

"I think we've had enough excitement for one night. Let's get some sleep, 'kay?"

"Kari…"

"Would you like to hear something funny about Krad?"

"What could possibly be amusing about him?" snorted Satoshi.

"He hates it when I call him Krad-kun," said Kari with a grin. Satoshi stared at her in disbelief before he chuckled…she was right; that _was _funny!

* * *

A week later…

"All right Sato-kun, it's time to have some fun!" said Kari happily.

"What're you…?"

"We're going to the new amusement park silly!"

"Nani?! Why're we going there?" asked Satoshi in surprise.

"You know as well as I do that there's no school today. And since today's my day off, I thought we'd go have some fun at the amusement park," explained Kari.

"I don't know…I don't think that's a good idea. What if…"

"Krad said he'd let us have some fun today. He's feeling generous today…if you can believe it. And by the way, you don't exactly have a choice…we're going even if I have to drag you there," said Kari evilly.

"What!"

"You spend too much time acting like an adult. You need to act your age once and while or you'll burn out. And as for that fool Hiwatari…I already hid your cell so he can't get ahold of us unless he comes in person!" laughed Kari.

"My name's Hiwatari," Satoshi pointed out.

"Not from what Krad told me. He said your real name is Hikari. And I gotta tell ya, that sounds a LOT better than Hiwatari Satoshi!"

"…"

"Let's get going! Oh, and I don't recommend wearing your glasses…you can lose them easily on the roller coaster."

"All right, I'll leave my glasses. I sure hope this doesn't turn into a disaster…" said Satoshi in defeat.

_

* * *

The cell rang…it was Commander Hiwatari. He had found yet another way to bring Krad out. When Satoshi didn't answer, he tried again…and again, and again. He grew frustrated and wondered why Satoshi was ignoring him. He then tried through the home phone…still no answer. Now he was losing patience. He left an ominous warning on the answering machine…_

"_You can't escape me forever by ignoring me, Satoshi. You will have to bring out your better half eventually. This won't be the last time you hear from me about this…"_

A certain homicidal blond who had stayed behind heard the message. He briefly thought about warning Kari and Satoshi, then thought the better of it. He'd tell them before they came back. He knew that the foolish Commander Hiwatari would be paying them a visit to see why Satoshi didn't answer. If he found out about Kari and her strange ability to bring him out willingly, then she'd be in danger; Satoshi would be in worse since his step-father would consider him useless.

Krad sighed and waited in boredom for Hiwatari to pay his inevitable visit for answers. He wasn't about to answer the door for that man, if he could help it. Even if he _did_ get in, Krad figured Kari would allow him to stay with her to avoid him. He did have a decent excuse after all! His mind then began to wander towards thoughts of a certain girl and her strange attitude towards him and Dark… He immediately snapped out of his daze.

**"_What am I doing? Why am I thinking of her as a friend and not a vessel?!"_** said Krad in anger. But for some reason he couldn't help but feel different around her. Whenever she was around, he felt like he could trust her. He learned a long time ago that trust shouldn't be given away lightly…the hard way. His memory of what happened flashed through his mind and he drifted into the comfort of the one place he could never become confused. His memories.


	6. Fun and Flashbacks

**Fun and flashbacks**

_Why am I letting her drag me here?!_ Satoshi thought to himself.

"We're almost there."

"Oh joy…"

"Don't be a pessimist!" laughed Kari.

Kari paid for the entrance fee and they went in. Satoshi had never been to an amusement park before, or had any fun thanks to Krad! He was completely out of his element. She sensed his discomfort and gave him a reassuring grin.

-----

"So what do you want to do first? Rides, games or both?"

Satoshi decided it was time to take a leap of faith (so to speak) and said, "Rides."

"Come on! Let's go on some then!" she smiled. This time he followed her like a lost puppy…much to the amusement of others. The first one they got on was: the space ship. It swung up high back and forth; Satoshi was glad that he didn't have a weak stomach! Next was a ride that he had mixed opinions of…it was like a spinning top, except he was on the inside while it spun around and went up into the air. He looked at Kari and saw that she was grinning. He grinned too…it was fun once you got past the fact that it made you dizzy.

He was mildly irritated that he went on the log ride; he liked it until they got to the part right before the log goes down a large slide. (He got soaked; Kari was laughing at his look.) She decided to take it easy on him and went on the Ferris wheel.

-----

"So? What'd you think so far?" she asked.

"I'm…actually having fun. This is an odd feeling…" admitted Satoshi.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah…this is the first time I've ever been to a real park before."

"You're kidding!"

"No, I'm serious. I either had to worry about Krad or my father so much that I eventually gave up on being a normal kid."

"That is bad. Even my jerk of a father took me to amusement parks. Have you ever gone to a swimming pool before?"

"Couldn't…low blood pressure."

"You've missed out on a lot…" said Kari sympathetically.

"I guess this is the perfect time to catch up, then!" laughed Satoshi.

-----

They got off the Ferris wheel and went to get lunch. Satoshi looked a bit dubious as to whether or not it was actually edible. (Kari couldn't resist teasing him a bit!)

"Hey, you trusted _my _cooking skills and tried my hard candy recipe! I still can't believe you and Krad thought I'd poison you with the food coloring," laughed Kari.

Satoshi remembered _that_ incident a little too well…

**

* * *

(Flashback to five days ago…) **

"What're you making, Onee-san?" asked Satoshi. Kari was hovering over the stove with a pan. She had corn syrup, sugar and water already in it. (It had 2/3 corn syrup, 2 cups sugar and 3/4 a cup of water.)

"Hard candy."

"That doesn't look like candy if you ask me…" said Satoshi.

"That's because I just started it! And as for the flavoring… Which would you prefer: cherry, wintergreen, lemon, or cinnamon?"

"Are you sure you know what your doing? I don't see a cook book anywhere…" said Satoshi nervously.

Kari puffed up her cheeks (anime style) and said, "I don't need one to make this candy. I know perfectly well what the ingredients are and the temperature they have to be in!"

"How do I know you actually know the recipe by heart?" asked Satoshi dubiously.

"I've made this particular recipe about twenty times. I know what I'm doing! Now what flavor do you want?" she asked a little annoyed.

"I've never had cherry before. I'll try that," said Satoshi. (He and Krad were both going out on a limb by trusting her not to ruin the batch.)

"Okay, cherry it is. Would you prefer the regular red color or would you like to mix a few of them to make something different?"

"I don't know…how about blue or yellow?" asked Satoshi.

"I'll make it blue then. It's a good thing I brought the candy thermometer with me when I came!" said Kari. One look at the thermometer was giving Satoshi second thoughts!

_

* * *

I have a baaaad feeling about this. _

_**You and me both, Satoshi-sama!**_

I heard that!!!!!

_**ACK!**_

* * *

"Would you relax already?! I'm not going to ruin the recipe!" said Kari annoyed. 

"Okay, Onee-san."

"And I better not hear any thoughts of poison from _either _of you two! The only ones I'd do that too are Dark and your step-father!"

After turning on the stove, putting it on medium heat, she stirred until the sugar had completely dissolved before she sat down nearby and kept an eye on the temperature. That's when she remembered something important.

"Hey Sato-kun, would you like to help me make this?" she asked.

"Sure…what do I have to do?"

"Oil the pan. Just a little; it's to keep the candy from sticking when I pour it," said Kari as she handed him the pan and cooking oil. He poured a small amount onto it and made sure it covered the entire surface. She waited until it got to 260 degrees before she measured exactly one fourth of a teaspoon of blue food coloring. She caught Satoshi and Krad thinking she was going to poison them…they didn't trust whatever was in the small plastic bottles. She poured it into the mixture and then waited for the temperature to go up around forty degrees more.

When it got to around 290, she pulled out a small bottle and undid the plastic around the cap. (It was the flavoring for the candy. You have to pour it when he candy reaches 300 degrees.) Next she pours the contents into the syrupy mix and stirred like crazy. (Satoshi could have sworn he tasted something new from the steam!) As soon as she put the entire contents of the steaming pan and proceeds to spread it out onto the oiled up cookie pan. She put the rest of the utensils she had used in the sink and got out a small container of powdered sugar.

She managed to stop Satoshi from touching it. (She knew all too well how HOT that candy was!) When it cooled enough for them to break it into pieces, she let him go first. Soon it was broken up into smaller pieces and into the powdered sugar. (She asked him if he wanted to use the powdered sugar on top and he shrugged.)

He took a small piece of the candy before she put it in the sugar and (silently gulping), tried it out. Much to his (and Krad's!) amazement, it was pretty good.

"I told you that you had nothing to worry about! Why'd you two think I was going to poison you earlier?"

"We didn't like the look of whatever was in those small plastic bottles…" admitted Satoshi reluctantly. Kari looked at him before she burst out laughing.

"That wasn't poison, it was food coloring!" she said laughing.

**(End flashback…)**

* * *

"You never know whether you'll like something or not until you try…believe me, I know!" said Kari. 

Satoshi reluctantly tried it out and was mildly surprised that it _was_ edible. As they sat down eating lunch, Kari had a very disturbing message given to her when Krad showed up.

-----

_**I hate to break it to you, but Hiwatari is coming to Master Satoshi's house. He seemed to be annoyed when he didn't pick up the phone. I don't recommend going back there tonight.**_

_Thanks for the heads-up!_

-----

"Krad's here, isn't he…" sighed Satoshi.

"Actually, he was wanting to know where I put that hard candy. He's having trouble finding it," lied Kari.

"Oh, was that all? I'm still surprised he can open it without our help," joked Satoshi.

"Hey Sato-kun, how'd ya like to stay at my place tonight? You know, for a change of pace. I got some movies we could watch," said Kari.

"Definitely! Anything to avoid worrying about that idiot step-father of mine for another day!" grinned Satoshi.

"Maybe if we're lucky we'll catch another idiot outside my window to use for target practice!"

_-----_

_**Now that would DEFINITELY convince me!**_

_I thought it might…_

-----

They finished lunch and went on the roller coaster before playing some games. They decided to see the movie that was playing…just for the heck of it. They stayed having fun at the park until around 8 before they headed home. Kari and Satoshi were laughing at the pictures they got from the photo booth. There were five in all; both agreed that the one where Satoshi actually sat behind with his arm around her and stuck his tongue out with a wink and a 'peace' sign was the best! (They had gotten doubles of that one.)

"I still can't believe Krad actually let us have fun without him!" said Satoshi with a grin.

"He stayed with me after we finished lunch. I think he had a bit of fun too," joked Kari.

"He had _fun_?! Okay, what happened to the old Krad?" snickered Satoshi.

_**I heard that!**_

_I was hoping you would._

"Now, now you two. You can go back to hating each other tomorrow…tonight I want both of you to agree to a truce," said Kari quickly.

_**Fair enough. I get first shot a Dark if he shows up!**_

"Oh alright…but I get the second crack at him!" said Satoshi.

"Now was that so hard? Now, what movie do you want to watch first? A horror flick, a comedy or an anime?"

"You have anime films?!" said Satoshi in disbelief.

"Why're you so surprised?"

"I thought anime was for little kids…"

"Not you too! I get enough of that from my dad and grandpa!" said Kari a little annoyed.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry 'bout it. So what do you want to watch?"

"I've never even thought of an anime one, so why not that?"

"I got plenty of 'em! I also have 'Jaws', Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds', a really funny one called 'Patch Adams' and a hilarious one I'm sure Krad will like called 'Little Nicky'."

"Why do you think Krad will like the last one?"

"The main character is the son of Satan and his mother was an angel who got too drunk at a party. He has two older brothers…well, I shouldn't ruin the movie for you."

"The main character is a cross between an angel and the Prince of Darkness?! I think you're right, he actually might get a kick out of it," said Satoshi.

* * *

They entered the apartment and the boys waited while Kari set up the first movie. (They each got to pick ONE movie before they went to bed.) She chose a Miyazaki flick called Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Satoshi was a bit surprised she set the language selection to Japanese with Subtitles. When he asked her why she gave him a weird grin. 

"I prefer watching the movies in their original un-dubbed format with the subtitles on. Don't ask me why, I just think it's more fun that way," said Kari. (Krad could have sworn he saw an arrow that pointed at Kari saying 'Queen of Subtitles'.)

Satoshi and Krad actually enjoyed the movie, despite the fact that it was an anime. Satoshi choose the next one: he wanted to see 'The Birds'. (Krad saw yet another arrow saying, 'Heard of it but never actually bothered to watch movie'.)

-----

_**That is weird…**_

_What is? _(Both ask at the same time!)

_**Nothing…its just I'm sure I saw arrows pointing at you with words on them.**_

_What did mine say? _(Kari.)

_**Queen of Subtitles. Satoshi's read "Heard of it but never actually bothered to watch movie".**_

_Weird…_

Krad looked up and saw one aimed at him too! (It read; 'the only one who can actually see the arrows'.)

-----

At this he looked outside to see whether or not his hunch was correct. (It was.)

**"_I should have guessed you were the one pulling that stunt. What was with the arrows, Dark?!"_** asked Krad a tad annoyed.

**"Eh, I was bored and it looked like you guys were havin' fun without me."**

"How did you know that I'm the 'Queen of Subtitles'?!" asked Kari.

**"I'd rather not say…"**

**"_You were outside her window watching with her without her knowing, weren't you?"_**

**"Yup. I must say I was a bit surprised that she always put the subtitles on even when it's in English…"**

"I just like to read the subtitles. Besides, it helps whenever the neighbors are being noisy and I have a hard time hearing it. You might as well come in Dark."

_**Aw…you said we could use him as target practice!!!**_

_I said he could come in, I never said you couldn't shoot at him when he finally leaves._

_**Yay!!!!**_

_Hehehe…_

"So what are we going to watch next, Krad-kun?"

**"_I told you not to call me that!"_** said Krad irritably; he heard Dark's veiled snickering behind him.

"Sorry, but it is _your_ turn to pick the movie," she reminded him.

**"_You said there was one that might amuse me… why not that?"_** asked Krad while he secretly thought _**'Can I PLEASE throw popcorn at Dark?'**_

_We'll join you. But you're gonna be the one to pick it up later._

_**Deal.**_

-----

She put in the Adam Sandler movie called 'Little Nicky'. Krad was actually laughing when he watched it much to Dark's surprise. He didn't think he'd ever hear Krad laughing! When it was over, Satoshi was fast asleep in her lap and Dark got up to leave.

**"Definitely worth coming over. I never thought I'd see the day when you actually give a genuine laugh!"**

**"_I'd get going if I were you… Kari said we could use you for target practice if you showed up."_**

"Knock yourself out Krad!" laughed Kari.

_**Best. Night. Ever!**_

_Aren't you glad that Sato-kun's idiot step-father called?_

_**If he hadn't, I would have missed out on throwing popcorn at Dark for over an hour!**_


	7. Break in at the Hikari Manor

**Break in at the Hikari manor**

The next morning Satoshi went to school (after he finally woke up) and Kari made sure he actually _had _breakfast and a lunch for later. As he entered the classroom, he heard a commotion. Seems Takeshi had some news; and it involved _him._

-----

"Hey Hiwatari, do you have a roommate named Hikari?"

Satoshi stopped dead in his tracks from shock. He turned and said, "Why do you ask?"

"I heard from my pops that someone broke into his house last night. The guy who rents it is named S. Hikari. I figured you might know who this guy is," said Takeshi.

"I know him alright."

"So do ya think I could talk to him?"

"You're talking to him right now, idiot," said Satoshi annoyed.

"WHAT!!!" exclaimed Takeshi in surprise.

"I'm not joking."

"But pops said the guy was named Hikari, not Hiwatari! He was pretty sure that's what it said!"

"He didn't get it wrong. The only person named Hikari in my house is _me_. And I'd rather not talk about it right now!" said Satoshi with a look that told Takeshi to drop it.

-----

During lunch…

"So, Hiwatari-kun, are you really named Hikari?" asked Risa.

"I thought I said I didn't want to talk about it!" said Satoshi, desperate to leave.

"You might as well tell them Satoshi. They're gonna find out sooner or later," said Daisuke.

"I'd rather deal with this later. Besides, I have nothing to say about what my real name is!" said Satoshi as he left to eat alone on the roof.

_-----_

_**Satoshi-sama, what's wrong? You seem a bit…agitated.**_

_At this point I really don't care whether or not you take over! All I want is to know who the hell broke into my house!_

_**It was Hiwatari. He was mad that you didn't answer ANY of his calls and decided to break in and find out what was going on.**_

_Is that the reason you came to the amusement park? And why Kari-nee had us stay at her house?_

_**She didn't want you to worry about it until later.**_

_She could have WARNED me before I got here!_

_**She didn't know he broke into the house. I was the one who called the police…it was the only way I could get rid of him.**_

_DAMN HIM!!!!!_

-----

"Hey, Hiwatari? Are you okay?" asked Daisuke nervously.

"I would be…except I found out who broke into the house while I was out with Kari-nee."

"Who?"

"Krad said it was…my step-father. Kari hid my cell when we left and apparently he got angry when I didn't answer any of the calls."

"Where'd you two go? And who called the police?"

"Kari almost literally dragged me to the new amusement park. We were there until a little past 8, then we went and stayed at her place. Krad said he was the one who called the police, just to get him out of the house!"

"Hey, Hiwatari! Why'd ya disappear like that?!" asked Takeshi.

"Go away… my headache is bad enough without you adding to it!" griped Satoshi.

"Well you could at least answer a few questions! I'm going to make an article for the paper today!"

"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up," said Satoshi irritably. (Really did have a nasty headache!)

"Where were you when your house got broken into?"

"Kari dragged me to the new amusement park. We were there until around 8 at night."

"Wait, are you saying that the intern from America took you to the park?!"

"Don't believe me?"

"Are you kidding?! There's no way she'd take someone like you there! You're too uptight all the time!" said Takeshi.

"I have pictures to prove it…but there's no way in hell you're getting your hands on them!" said Satoshi.

"I'll find a way!" said Takeshi.

"Feh…you won't succeed unless you somehow manage to con the Phantom Thief himself to get them for you," snorted Satoshi.

"Fine then…why is your house under the name S. Hikari?"

"I'm NOT in the mood to discuss that right now! If you really want to know why don't you ask my step-father!" said Satoshi angrily.

"Hiwatari's your step-father?!"

_

* * *

Krad, can you go tell Kari-nee that I'm going home early? I can't take much more of this!_

_**I figured as much. She is on her lunch break and said to wait for her. She has the 'sanity pills' and a glass of water out for you. What are these sanity pills anyway?  
**__It's something for headaches and the like. Which is what I desperately NEED right now!_

_**Okaaay…**_

* * *

Satoshi got up and headed towards the nurse's office.

"Hey Hiwatari! Where're you going? I haven't finished!" protested Takeshi.

"I wouldn't bother Satoshi right now, Takeshi. He doesn't look so good," said Daisuke; as if to prove his point, Satoshi stumbled on the stairs and collapsed.

"Hey, what happened?!"

"Looks like his low blood pressure strikes again," commented Daisuke, "I'll take him to the nurse's office, and you tell the teacher he's not coming back to class today!"

Daisuke carried the unconscious teen to the nurse's office. Since she was out, he tried to get Satoshi awake…at least long enough to call for someone.

"Ow…what happened?!" asked Satoshi weakly.

"Your low blood pressure kicked in. You fell down the stairs," explained Daisuke.

"And here I always cursed having such low blood pressure…who knew it could come in handy?" said Satoshi sarcastically.

"Should I call your step-father or my house?"

"_Neither!!!!_ It's thanks to him that my house was broken into! And I know your mother can't stand me because of who I was! Call my older sister, _PLEASE!!!_" said Satoshi desperately.

"I didn't know you had…"

"By older sister I meant call Kari! She's the only one aside from you that I trust. Just tell your more annoying half not to call her at all hours of the night," said Satoshi.

Daisuke handed him the phone; his fingers whirled as he dialed the number. Kari picked up and said, "I'm guessing his low blood pressure kicked in, right?"

"Um, hello?"

"Don't worry about Sato-kun. Just tell him to be waiting on the roof; I'll be using Krad's wings for the return trip," said Kari.

"Wha…?"

"And please tell that perverted thief that if I catch him on that pole again I'll shoot him!" said Kari annoyed. Daisuke was clearly confused. He looked at his friend who said, "Krad told her."

"Okay…so on the roof and you'll use Krad's wings, right?" asked Daisuke.

"Yup."

-----

"I'll make sure he gets up there safely," said Daisuke as he hung up. The nurse walked in surprised to see them.

"What're you two doing here?!"

"Satoshi fell on the stairs and his blood pressure is really low," said Daisuke quickly.

"Let's see…it looks like a nasty bump alright. How do you feel?"

"Tired and like my skulls about to split in two. Takeshi was giving me quite a headache when I fell," said Satoshi.

"I'm assuming you have already asked for someone to pick you up?"

"Yes."

"Very well then. I'll inform your teacher that you had to leave earlier out of bad health," said the nurse.

"I already had Takeshi tell her. I thought it was the wise choice. Should I make sure he leaves safely?" asked Daisuke.

"If you wouldn't mind. The last thing you need is another fall!" said the nurse irritably.

-----

Daisuke watched in amazement as a pair of pure white wings came down; and for once it wasn't Krad who was flying on them! Kari landed carefully and said, "You feeling any better, Sato-chan?"

"I think I'll need to hit your stash of sanity pills, Onee-san," said Satoshi with a crooked smile.

"I thought you might when Krad said you had a nasty headache. Let's hope the school doesn't call your idiot step-father."

"They won't. I told the nurse that we had already called someone to pick me up," said Satoshi.

"Am I missing something here?! Why do you have Krad's wings and what's with Satoshi calling you big sis?!" asked Daisuke, clearly confused.

"I'll tell you later when this damn headache goes away," said Satoshi. He held on tight to Kari as they headed straight to her apartment; that was when a certain thief finally decided to wake up.

* * *

**That was a good nap! Did I miss anything?**

Yup…you missed Satoshi snapping at Takeshi 'cause his house got broken into yesterday.

**WHAT!!!! What else did I miss out?!**

Kari coming and picking up Satoshi on _Krad's_ wings. Satoshi stumbled and fell on the stairs and he got sent home early. Also, it seems that Satoshi's house is under his original name.

**How do you know that?**

Because Takeshi asked him if he had a roommate named (get this) S. Hikari. Satoshi snapped at him and tried his best not to deal with it.

**Aw man! I missed out on everything! DAMN!!!!!**

* * *

"Hey Daisuke, have you seen Hiwatari-kun? He never came back after lunch!" asked Risa.

"He went home early…didn't Takeshi tell you?!" said Daisuke.

"Nope…all he kept going on about something about Commander Hiwatari is really Satoshi-kun's step-father."

"That baka! I thought I asked him to tell the teacher Satoshi was leaving early!" said Daisuke angrily.

"Niwa-san, where is Hiwatari, Satoshi?" asked the teacher.

"He went home early…he fell down the stairs and had a nasty headache. I asked Takeshi to warn you, which apparently he didn't," explained Daisuke.

"Very well then."

-----

"Hey Daisuke, think you can…"

"No! I will not take over for your cleaning duty!" growled Daisuke angrily.

"But why not?" whined Takeshi.

"I asked you to tell the teacher that Satoshi was leaving early and you didn't! Not only am I not taking your cleaning duty today; I'm also not gonna tell you the truth about Satoshi's real name!" said Daisuke with a cold smirk.

"WHAT! You mean you knew his real name this whole time and didn't tell me?! That would have been a great scoop! Why didn't you…?"

"Drop it. You're not getting anything else from me…and apparently you were getting on Satoshi's nerves too," commented Daisuke as he headed out the door.

"I guess I'll have to keep those pics of Harada to myself then," hinted Takeshi.

"Nice try…it's not going to work today!" laughed Daisuke.

"_What pictures?!"_ hissed Riku and Risa in unison.

-----

Satoshi lay on Kari's lap while the Advil kicked in. He slowly began to fall asleep; until he noticed the white feathers around the room…

His eyes flew open in an instant; he tried getting up, but Krad wouldn't let him.

**"**_**Calm down Satoshi-sama. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help,"** _said Krad smoothly.

"You know I don't trust you…and most likely I never will," said Satoshi coldly.

**"_Oh? If I didn't care about you, then why did I tell you the truth about who broke into your apartment?"_**

"Want my honest opinion?" asked Satoshi as he (reluctantly) lay his head back down.

**"_Yes."_**

"Because you're a homicidal psychopath who enjoys being a sadistic bastard," said Satoshi.

-----

Ouch…that had to hurt.

_**You have NO idea…though part of it was true. I'm not going to say which though!**_

I would have been shocked if you had.

-----

**"_You might have a point…but I do care about you whether you like it or not."_**

"Yeah right… Your care for me only goes as far as being able to use me as a vessel that you need to manifest yourself!" snorted Satoshi. (He didn't notice that Krad was trying to put him to sleep without hurting him in the process.)

**"_That used to be true…but now I'm not so sure."_**

"What?"

**"_Ever since we met that girl I've had this weird feeling around her. I don't know how, but she is actually changing me…and you as well," _**said Krad calmly as he brushed the ever-so-rebellious blue hair out of Satoshi's eyes. The teen looked at his former alter ego that he hated so much…before finally falling fast asleep in his lap.

**"_Sleep, Master Satoshi…for tomorrow a new kind of hell awaits us both,"_ Krad whispered before giving Kari back control.**

**(I hope you don't mind that little KradXSato fluff scene. After the last chapter I felt it had to happen _sometime_. If anyone wants to see some other yaoi pairings then let me know in your reviews!)**


	8. Return of Satoshi HIKARI

**The return of Satoshi _Hikari_**

The next morning he woke up and his headache was finally gone…for now. He was about to get ready for school when he saw the note.

_Sato-kun, I told them you still weren't feeling well, so you have the day off. When you feel up to it we'll go see what damage Hiwatari-the-idiot did to your house. Love, Kari._

Satoshi slowly got out of bed and almost immediately had to sit down again. His headache had returned with a vengeance. Kari had anticipated this, so she left some Advil on the counter by the bed along with a glass of juice. He waited until it took affect before attempting to get up again. He went to see if she had left any breakfast for him as well. (He had gotten used to actually _eating_ breakfast before school.)

"Let's see what she left for me," he mumbled to himself. He ate some cereal and washed the dishes. He smiled…he may have the day off from school, but that didn't mean he was going to sit around all day if Kari could help it!

* * *

He went to see what time it was (he had already been up for nearly two hours), and he was surprised to see it was almost noon. This was quite a shock; normally he didn't sleep in this late! Satoshi's attention was diverted when he heard the door open. At first he thought Kari had come home for lunch…then he quickly realized it wasn't her! She would have announced coming in so he'd know it was her. He looked through a crack in the door at a mirror that faced the front door. It was originally meant to tell Kari if Dark had come in that way…now it served a similar purpose. (He knew that it couldn't be Dark since Daisuke was at school.)

He held back an angry gasp as he recognized the figure. _It was Hiwatari._ Satoshi was beginning to grow angry at his intrusion…until he realized that the 'universal' remote Kari bought a week earlier was in the room with him. (They had already set it to her electronics!)

Satoshi smirked…it was time to scare _dear old dad._ This was going to be fun!

_

* * *

_

_**I recommend the Stereo. Kari had a feeling he'd show up eventually…so she left it on FULL BLAST.**_

_Yay! Fun time!_

_-----_

_Hiwatari walked through the girl's apartment with a critical eye. It was clear she wasn't the most organized person and she loved electronics. He briefly looked at her DVD collection and walked away in disgust. He had never suspected that the girl was an anime otaku! Right as he walked near the speakers he was blasted half-way across the room as it suddenly blared to life playing a mixed CD. He couldn't hear the snickering over the music._

_-----_

_**Having fun are we?**_

_Better believe it! I'm soooo glad she left the remote in here! Did you see the look on his face when I turned it on? That was priceless!_

_**Kari said she's coming home for lunch. She'll be here in five minutes…and she said knock yourself out with the remote.**_

_Thank you Kari!_

* * *

(Hiwatari's POV)

_I didn't know she had a motion-sensitive stereo! Damn that girl! Why'd she leave it at full blast…unless she left it for Dark._

As Hiwatari walked past the stereo system (which had continued playing the last song on the CD) and went towards the kitchen area. Then things really went out of control. The stereo turned off, and the TV came on with a very loud movie. He assumed it was the infamous 'Jaws' film with the shark. As the theme music for the great white's appearance played, he went to turn it off. As a result, the stereo came back on with a country song, which was the very first track. He winced as the stereo's loud acoustics began to make his ears throb (the vibrations were the real reason). Thanks to the loud music, he never heard the door open…he only realized that someone had come in when the music instantly went off along with the TV!

-----

"Chief Hiwatari. Care to explain why you're in my house uninvited?" said Kari annoyed.

"What?"

"Sato-kun, were you playing the mix CD again?" asked Kari.

"Nah…you said I could play around with the remote."

"True."

-----

(Krad's POV)

Master Satoshi walked out of the bedroom and stood beside Kari with a smirk. The man who broke into Master Satoshi's house, the one he called 'Father', lay on the ground from pain. Master Satoshi seems to enjoy this…

Hiwatari stood up…I guess the noise hadn't bothered him as much as I'd hoped. He seems angry; maybe it's because Satoshi-sama is by her side. I hope for his sake that he isn't planning to get rid of her. Things will not bode well if he tries that!

(Back to regular POV)

-----

Kari wasn't too happy that Hiwatari had actually showed up. He obviously didn't notice the camera in her hands, since he was too busy arguing with Satoshi. She quickly took a snapshot of him in her house. He blinked a few times thanks to the flash; he tries to lunge for the camera, knowing that if she gave them to the detectives he would lose everything.

"Leave Satoshi alone and these photos won't reach the press," said Kari calmly. She knew he couldn't hear her thanks to the trap Satoshi had sprung on Hiwatari. But he could sense what she had said and that was more than enough. His face was full of rage. Satoshi's eyes were colder than ice towards the man he called father. The man ran out and left the scene faster than they thought he could ever move.

"So, Sato-kun, how'd you like to see what he did to your house?" asked Kari.

"I think that would be a wise choice…considering the fact that I won't call him father after what he pulled," said Satoshi, eerily calm.

"I'll bet you a soda that he'll be trying to get rid of me after this."

"He probably hasn't even realized yet that the recommendation letter you sent was fake."

"How long…?"

"For over a few months now. I suspected you were lying about the college courses when you couldn't remember your teacher's names. So I looked you up and found that you never attended the college. I would have said something earlier, but when you began teaching Dark a lesson I decided against it."

"I'm glad you did. Though the letter was only a partial lie. I really was taking classes on Japanese…except I was doing it online under my usual alias."

"Sakura Elric, right?"

"Yup. Let's go before it gets too dark."

* * *

What greeted them was a police barricade and Detective Saehara. He seemed surprised that Satoshi had actually shown up.

"Hello Chief Commander. I thought you weren't feeling well today?"

"I'm fine. So why is there a barricade around my house?" he said calmly.

"There's no way this is your house. The deed is written to a woman named Rio Hikari, according to this."

"That's my mother's name."

"That can't be. Your last name is…"

"Hiwatari? Please, I was adopted. The only reason I even left the title under my original name is so my step-father couldn't use it without my knowing."

"Since someone broke in we can't let you stay here until we confirm that," said Saehara.

"I can live with that. Oh, and my 'father' will be a little hard of hearing for a week at least. He was too close to a stereo playing full blast," said Satoshi with a cold grin of satisfaction.

"I hope you can handle staying with the Chief until this whole mess is sorted out…"

"There's NO way I'm staying with him! I'll be with Kari instead…she doesn't get on my nerves as quickly as he does," said Satoshi.

"Very well, so long as you don't try to leave town," shrugged Saehara.

"Looks like we won't be able to survey the damage until they get through with their investigation."

"Oh well. It's not like there's anything I really need that I can't get elsewhere," shrugged Satoshi. Before she could reply they heard an exclamation and someone yelling, "Hey! Hiwatari wait up!"

-----

"Oh hell no! Why's Takeshi here?!"

"I'm glad I finally found you! I've was looking for you at school and they said you were still sick!"

"Go away Takeshi."

"You do know that the person who called in the break in was a woman, right?"

"What?"

"Yeah, pops let me listen to the tape, and it sounded like a woman's voice! He thought Kari was there until you mentioned that she was with you," said Takeshi, catching his breath.

"That's impossible. There was no one in the house when we left. I should know considering I double-checked!"

_-----_

_KRAD!!! What the hell did you do now?!_

_**What? I didn't do anything.**_

_Then what's this about a WOMAN'S voice calling in the intruder?!_

_**Ah, about that…I tried to imitate Kari but it was impossible so…**_

_You didn't!_

_**I used hers.**_

_You bastard! Why the hell did you have to use my mother's voice?!_

-----

"Earth to Hiwatari!" said Takeshi loudly.

"Don't call me Hiwatari anymore. I'm sick of being reminded of that jerk."

"So what else am I supposed to call you?!"

"Hikari. That's my original name," said Satoshi coldly. That was when he remembered something about the house. He remembered exactly where he had put the papers!

"Prove it!" said Takeshi.

"Will your father let you through the barricade?"

"I'm sure I could talk him into it…if you had a juicy scoop I could use."

"Heh…second floor to the right next to the closet. If you open up the middle drawers you'll see something you might find interesting," said Satoshi.

"What?"

"You'll have to find out for yourself," said Satoshi.

"So where was it again?"

"Want me to write it down for you?"

"It might help!"

-----

Satoshi wrote down the specific directions…as well as what folder to look for. He handed it to Takeshi and said, "When you find it, you might as well show your father as well."

"Got it!"

"What was that about?"

"My father tried to sell the house once, except the deed was still in my mother's name. Since he couldn't prove that he had married her, he couldn't do anything with it since I never gave my consent. Ever since then I've kept my own copy of my _birth certificate _and the _adoption forms_. I just now remembered where I put them."

"So you sent Takeshi in to get them for you and to prove that the house really _is _yours legally. Very sneaky Sato-kun!" laughed Kari. They went back up and waited until Takeshi found the forms Satoshi had secretly sent him to get for him. (He wasn't about to tell him that he had Saehara do his dirty work.)

Detective Saehara took one look at the papers and decided to see if they were authentic.

**XxXxX**

"If I may suggest something, I recommend you look under case file 14F345SH in the land title claims. You'll see that I wasn't joking," said Satoshi coolly. In less than 15 minutes his point was across. Once again he had proven that the house and land around it was legally his and no one else's.

**XxXxX**

"Sorry about that Chief Commander. I didn't expect you to actually memorize the case number and have those copies!"

"After my step-father tried to sell the place without my consent I figured that I should keep the photocopies in case it might happen again," shrugged Satoshi. As soon as they had collected the evidence they needed to further the investigation, they left. (Much to Satoshi's dismay Takeshi remained, determined to get an interview for the paper!)

After Takeshi got enough answers for an article he left. Satoshi sank down onto the couch wearily. He looked at Kari and asked, "If I strangle Krad will you feel it too?"

"Why…?"

"That idiot had the gall to mimic my mother's voice when he called in the break-in."

"So will they come after you once Hiwatari tries to retaliate?"

"They won't do a thing since I've already proven that I legally own this place and not him. And if he does find out that your letter was fake, he can't exactly kick you out. You didn't take any money from the department, nor have you committed any crimes and the like. You can just claim you're a tourist who volunteered to work with our division," Satoshi pointed out.

"Well actually, he can't exactly kick me out if he doesn't know my real name. My passport may say I'm Kari, but my Driver's Permit from the States says otherwise."

"What?!"

"I didn't want to tell you, but it seems now is a good time to warn you. The name on the passport is a made-up nickname I came up with. I told the Custom's Agency that I preferred going by the nickname instead of my real one. And since I wasn't pretending to be someone else they let me get away with it," admitted 'Kari'.

"So what's your real name, Onee-san?"

"Anne Nichols. You can see why I choose to use a made-up nickname…" she sighed in dismay.

"Yikes…that explains a lot. So should I start calling you Anne or can I keep calling you Kari?"

"The latter."

"You can probably guess what I'm going to start doing."

"Go back to your birth name to spite Hiwatari?"

"Yup."


	9. Legal Hell

**Legal hell**

"What the…?! Well, well, well. It seems little Kari has some explaining to do," said Hiwatari with an evil laugh.

* * *

"What do you mean your letter was a fake?!" asked Detective Saehara.

"Hiwatari has probably found out about that too. He didn't like the fact that Satoshi treated me like an older sister."

"Next you'll be telling me Kari isn't your name either."

"It's a nickname. I just prefer being called Kari instead of my real name. Though the part about studying Japanese _was _true."

"Online courses," said Satoshi when he saw the detective's look.

"You do know they'll probably kick you out when the truth comes to the surface…"

"Actually, the Customs Agency already knows that I'm not a student, nor that my name isn't Kari. And since I haven't done anything wrong, there's nothing he can do about it."

"So why tell us now?"

"Because I figured it was better to warn you before Hiwatari tried to bring it up later. And he _will _bring it up."

"He'll probably challenge my claim on the land too, just out of spite."

"Oh joy…"

"So what should we do now?" asked Kari.

"Well, I don't recommend coming to work until this whole mess gets sorted out. It _will _look like you think you can work around the legal system."

"Good point. I guess this means we'll be behind the tape next time Dark sends out a warning letter," joked Satoshi.

"Unfortunately…and you're the only one who's even gotten close to catching him."

"Takeshi…we can give you guys advice through him," Kari said suddenly.

"You're right…and since he's always putting things in his school paper that he shouldn't, then it'll be easy to claim we got the idea from that!"

* * *

Satoshi and Kari stayed out of the police business, to ensure that the press wouldn't get the wrong idea when the truth hit the fan. Which it did a week later. Kari had already finished an entire semester of the online courses early. She didn't bother to sign up until after the mess had been sorted out. Satoshi quit going by his step-father's name and went back to being who he really was…a Hikari.

"Hey Hiwatari!"

Satoshi didn't respond, or even act like he heard Takeshi.

"Hiwatari!"

"Um, Takeshi, don't you remember? He dropped his adopted father's name and went back to his birth name," Daisuke reminded him.

"Sorry…Hikari!"

"What?" asked Satoshi. (He finally got rid of his habit of answering to Hiwatari.)

"Have you been reading the papers? Looks like Kari is in trouble! They found out through an anonymous source that her recommendation letter was fake!"

"We know. She told us a week ago, before that idiot step-father of mine brought it up. And the only reason she used that fake letter was as an excuse to enter the department."

"And how did she pay for her apartment and her travel ticket?"

"It's called saving and actually having a _job_. You should try it sometime," said Satoshi bored.

"I still don't get how Satoshi-kun owns a mansion!" said Risa.

"He inherited it," said Daisuke.

"Wow…this is still very confusing," said Risa.

"Tell me about it," grumbled Satoshi.

-----

"And now for my least favorite kind of battle…legal ones," said Kari as she looked outside the window at the reporters.

"You said it…how many calls have we been getting?" asked Satoshi.

"Beats me…I quit counting three days ago. Feh, it's not like I don't know the legal system."

"Don't tell me you've been in jail before!"

"Hell no…I just watch too many 'Law and Order' and 'CSI' shows," laughed Kari.

"CSI?"

"CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. It's a good show. And don't even get me started on the Law and Order show."

"You watch too much TV."

"Are you joking? They're one of the few non-anime shows I even watch."

"Sure…whatever. How many more Advil do we have left until we…?"

"Don't worry. Though we only have a half-bottle left. If we keep taking them, then they'll think we're addicted or something."

"So what do you propose?"

"Wait until we find a decent lawyer or something. Unfortunately for Hiwatari, I'm still a legal American citizen. And I remember a good deal of the Constitution from that Government class I had to take."

"Basically, you know how to fight his over-bearing fire with fire."

"Mostly. And get this; he can't use the amendments against us if he doesn't know what they are."

"There is one other way to get ourselves out of this…but it's a long shot."

"Please tell me that it involves time travel."

"You're quick to catch on," said Satoshi.

"It's a one-shot, right? So how do we warn our past selves to not screw this up a second time?"

"Krad. But how are we going to pull this off?"

"You're the magic use expert, why don't you figure it out? I know how these things usually end."

"Badly."

"So any ideas?"

"Please tell me you have a suggestion."

"Ever heard of Macbeth, or Oedipus Rex?"

"Aren't those the names of tragic plays?!"

"They're _Screen Plays_. And since they're the only ones I can think of, I figured we could try that," said Kari with a shrug.

"Why a screen play?"

"It was the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to dire warnings. Though what I have in mind will definitely keep your attention from ignoring it," said Kari.

"Why do I get a bad feeling when you say that?"

"You know the usual cliché when it comes to stories, right? The part where the hero always gets the girl?"

"Let me guess. The characters names are going to be Krad and Dark?"

"Close…that would make it too obvious if you read it. I was thinking more along the lines of 'Hikari' and 'Yami'."

"Light and Darkness?"

"It works, doesn't it? Guess whose light and whose darkness?"

"Yami is Dark and Krad is Hikari. Cute, but still obvious."

"I'm more of a twists and turns kind of girl. You get to help me make this," said Kari.

"That would ruin the…"

"Look, remember that picture we took at the amusement park? We'll give it to Krad and have him deliver that picture to both of us in the past along with the play…to me since I'm the only one of us who actually enjoys reading them," said Kari.

"What's going to be the ending? At least tell me part of what you have in mind!"

"The villain gets the girl and the hero isn't who you think it is."

"Who's the hero?"

"And spoil MY fun?"

"Evil girl…"

"And the annoying pain-in-the-rears known as _lawyers_," said Kari after she looked out the window.

"ACK!!!!!"

* * *

A knock is heard. Kari looked at him to say, "Shall we make our escape?"

"Yes please!!!"

"Oy, Krad-kun, is there any entrance or exit we can use and make sure he can't find it!"

-----

_**I think we**_ **_can use the one that lead to the Second Hand of Time. The exit is…_**

_I know…that water fountain with the windmill on top. I've seen it; and I KNOW where the door knob is. Satoshi doesn't._

_**Let's go…NOW!**_

-----

"That…was…too…close!" said Kari, out-of-breath.

"You said it, Onee-san…" replied Satoshi.

"This is getting ridiculous… We have GOT to find a way to get away from this nightmare!"

"What're you suggesting? It's not like we can leave the country…" said Satoshi.

"I was thinking of a night out…Possibly with Dark and Daisuke…"

"WHAT! Why them?!"

"Simple…I want to humiliate Dark again. And still have some fun with Krad and you," replied Kari.

_**What do you have in mind?**_

"Can anyone say, 'Karaoke'?"

"WHAT!!!!!"

* * *

"Wait a sec…! Did I just hear you right, Satoshi?!" asked Daisuke in disbelief.

"Yup…Kari-nee wants to take all of us to a karaoke place. She says Dark's invited too."

"Why Karaoke?"

"She happens to enjoy singing along with her favorite songs. Plus, she figures if Dark can imitate people so easily, then singing shouldn't be a problem."

"I don't know…"

-----

**Kari wants to see how good I sing? Count me in!**

_But Dark, I can't sing that well!_

**Come on Dai, it'll be fun!**

_But…!_

**If you don't go voluntarily I'll take over and make you go.**

_DARK!!!!!!_

-----

"Looks like I don't have a choice in the matter…" sighed Daisuke.

"Dark's making you go?"

"Yup…"

"I'll tell Onee-san," said Satoshi.

"So Dark and Dai are coming too? Great!" said Kari, enthusiastic.

"Dark's not exactly giving Daisuke a choice."

"Sounds like him!" laughed Kari.

"So what are we gonna sing, Sis?"

"Let's see… I'm gonna choose the songs we'll all sing. If you want, you can help me pick Dai's and yours."

"Kay."

**(I'm cutting this chapter short. The next one will be entirely focused on the Karaoke Night! Most of it will be lyrics, but it'll still be funny!)**


	10. Karaoke Madness

**Karaoke madness**

"So this is the karaoke place you were talking about? Doesn't seem all that special…" said Satoshi.

"Heh…ever hear the phrase, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'? Come on, Sato-kun! Let's go in and wait for Dai and Dark!"

30 minutes later…

"Huh…I wonder if Satoshi and Kari are waiting inside," commented Daisuke.

**Probably…let's go in!**

"Um, Kari? Satoshi?"

"Hey Dai! We were waiting for ya!" laughed Kari.

"So are you ready to have some fun?" grinned Satoshi.

"Yup…but how are Dark and I supposed to…?"

Kari muttered something under her breath and in a split-second, Satoshi and Daisuke glowed. In their places were two separate bodies. Krad and Satoshi stood together as did Dark and Daisuke. Both boys and their other halves looked at each other in surprise.

**"Woah…that was…"**

**"_Weird."_**

"Creepy…Dark started and Krad finished…" laughed Kari.

"I'm ready to start when you are, Sis!" grinned Satoshi.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I'll…I'll try…" said Daisuke.

"Okay…since Satoshi and I know full well that you lot probably don't know the words to these songs, we've rented the room with the machine that has them scrolling down in sync with the songs."

Satoshi saw Daisuke's confusion and translated… "The lyrics will light up across the screen and all you have to do is sing them when the word lights up."

"Oh."

"Would it be easier to see someone else do this first as a demonstration?" asked Kari.

"Yeah…"

"In that case, I'll go first instead!" laughed Kari. (Satoshi, Krad, Dark and Daisuke all sat down as she started the machine and chose her song.)

"Let's get started!" grinned Kari as the song started…

* * *

"_Kanashii Hodo Hikari Dashita,_

_Shiroi Yami Kiri Saku Tsubasa Ni Nare,_

_Tsumetai Taiyou Ni Teraserateta,_

_Kai Narasareta Jiyuu Ga Atta,_

_Kagami Ni Utsutta Kiseki No Yoru,_

_Masuku O Hazushi Hajimeta My Soul,_

_Shiroku Someru Yami Tsuki Nukete,_

_Atarashii Jidai O Kizami Tsuzukero,_

_Toki Hanashita Kokoro No Mama Ni,_

_Hateshinaku Tsuzuiteku Byakuya O Tobe."_

**(Translated version)**

The white darkness started shining intensely,

Become the wings that cut through the darkness,

Illuminated by the cold sun,

I was given a tamed freedom,

In the miraculous night reflected in the mirror,

My soul began to remove its mask,

Break through the darkness that is painted white,

Keep engraving a new era,

As the heart you released desires,

Fly into the white night that continues endlessly.

(Opening theme for D.N.Angel…White Night-True Light)

* * *

Daisuke and the others were all a bit surprised. Kari's singing wasn't half bad at all. Now it was Daisuke's turn!

"Um…how do I choose a song on this thing…?" asked Daisuke, nervously.

"Oh, Sato and I chose a few songs you might enjoy. Here…this is the first one that came to mind…" said Kari as she entered the selection number.

"Um…okay…" said Daisuke as he prepared to sing the song she put in. (Evanescence, My Immortal. From their Fallen CD.)

-----

"_I'm so tired of being here_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave,_

_I wish that you would just leave_

'_Cause your presence still lingers here_

_And it won't leave me alone_

_These wounds won't seem to heal, _

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_But you still have all of me,_

_You used to captivate me_

_By your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face it holds_

_My once plans and dreams,_

_Your voice it chased away_

_All the sanity in me_

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_And you still have all of me,_

_I tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone,_

_But though you're still with me,_

_I've been alone,_

_I'm alone,_

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,_

_When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears,_

_I held your hand through all of these years,_

_And you still have all of me."_

-----

"Not bad, Dai!" said Kari, happy.

"Thanks…" mumbled Daisuke, slightly embarrassed.

"Who's next?" asked Satoshi.

"_Why not Dark?"_ smirked Krad evilly.

"Why not? I'm up for it!"

"All right then, Dark's up next! Let me set the song for ya!" laughed Kari.

* * *

**"Here you come knockin' on my door baby**

**Tell me what you got on your mind**

**I guess those college boys all went home for the summertime**

**And you're lookin' right, lookin' good, lookin' like a woman should**

**So why is it so hard to find**

**A place to lay your pretty little head down once in a while**

**You run on a little tough luck baby**

**Don't you sweat it**

**Everything is waiting inside for you**

**You know I got it**

**So come and get it**

**Who's your daddy, who's your baby?**

**Who's your buddy, yeah who's your friend?**

**And who's the one guy that you come runnin' to**

**When your love life starts tumblin'?**

**I got the money if you got the honey**

**Let's cut a deal let's make a plan**

**Who's your daddy, who's your baby?**

**Who's your buddy, who's your man?**

**You might've run on a little tough love baby**

**Don't you sweat it**

**Everything is waiting inside for you**

**You know I got it**

**So come and get it**

**Who's your daddy, who's your baby?**

**Who's your buddy, yeah who's your friend?**

**And who's the one guy that you come runnin' to**

**When your love life starts tumblin'?**

**I got the money if you got the honey**

**Let's cut a deal let's make a plan**

**Who's your daddy, who's your baby?**

**Who's your buddy, who's your man?**

**Who's your daddy, who's your baby?**

**Who's your buddy, who's your man?"**

(Toby Keith's 'Who's Your Daddy?' from his Unleashed CD.)

* * *

Everyone was a bit taken aback. They had thought that Dark would be an okay singer, but it was quite clear that he could _not _hit high notes properly! Kari decided to let either Satoshi or Krad take a turn.

"All right, which of you two will try next? Sato-kun or Krad-kun?" asked Kari. (Dark tried not to laugh when she called the Homicidal Blond 'Krad-kun.')

"I'll go…" said Satoshi. (He set his own song, since he had personally picked it himself.)

-----

"_I tried to kill my pain but only brought more,_

_(So much more,)_

_I lie dying and pouring,_

_Crimson regret and betrayal,_

_I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming,_

_Am I too lost…to be saved,_

_Am I too lost,_

_My god, _

_My tourniquet,_

_Return to me salvation,_

_My god, _

_My tourniquet,_

_Return to me salvation,_

_Do you remember me,_

_Lost for so long,_

_Will you be on the other side,_

_Or will you forget me,_

_I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming,_

_Am I too lost to be saved,_

_Am I too lost,_

_My god,_

_My tourniquet,_

_Return to me salvation,_

_My god,_

_My tourniquet,_

_Return to me salvation,_

_(Return to me salvation)_

_(I want to die)_

_My god, _

_My tourniquet, _

_Return to me salvation,_

_My god, _

_My tourniquet,_

_Return to me salvation,_

_My wounds cry for the grave, _

_My soul cries…for deliverance,_

_Will I be…denied, _

_Christ, Tourniquet,_

_My soul is saved,"_

(Evanescence—Tourniquet—Fallen.)

* * *

"Huh… interesting choice, otouto," said Kari.

"Thanks…I figured it really suited me when I read the lyrics."

"That just to leaves Krad."

**"_Oh joy…"_**

"Hey…Don't look so annoyed. We chose a great song just for you!" laughed Kari and Satoshi.

**"_Why do I have a bad feeling when you say that?"_**

It was finally Krad's turn, and Dark was all smirks.

-----

**"_Is this a dream_**

_**If it is please don't wake me from this high**_

_**I've become comfortably numb**_

_**Until you opened up my eyes**_

_**To what's it like when everything's right**_

_**I can't believe**_

_**You found me **_

_**When no one else was looking**_

_**How did you know just where I would be**_

_**Yeah you broke through all of my confusion**_

_**The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave**_

_**I guess that you saw what nobody could see**_

_**You found me**_

_**So here we are, that's pretty far**_

_**When you think of where we've been**_

_**No going back**_

_**I'm fading out all that has faded me within**_

_**You're by my side**_

_**Now everything's fine**_

_**I can't believe**_

_**You found me **_

_**When no one else was looking**_

_**How did you know just where I would be**_

_**You broke through all of my confusion **_

_**The ups and the downs and you still didn't leave**_

_**I guess that you saw what nobody could see**_

_**You found me**_

_**You found me**_

_**When I was hiding till you came along**_

_**And showed me where I belonged**_

_**You found me **_

_**When no one else was looking**_

_**How did you know, how did you know**_

_**You found me **_

_**When no one else was looking**_

_**How did you know just where I would be**_

_**Yeah you broke through all of my confusion**_

_**The ups and the downs you still didn't leave**_

_**I guess that you saw what nobody could see**_

_**You found me**_

_**You found me**_

_**You broke through all of my confusion**_

_**The ups and downs and you still didn't leave**_

_**I guess that you saw what nobody could see**_

_**The good and the bad and the things in between**_

_**You found me**_

_**You found me."**_

(Kelly Clarkson's 'You Found Me'. Breakaway track 9.)

* * *

Next came the duets… and Kari had a special treat for the best pair.

"Whichever pair sings the best gets a special prize…" she said with a mischievous look.

"What kind of prize…?"  
Kari whispered the prize to Satoshi whose eyes widened a bit before he grinned.

"I think Krad and Dark will want that prize the most," he grinned.

"So who will be paired up?" asked Daisuke.

"You and Sato-kun, Dark and Krad. I've already set the songs up, you just have to choose who goes first."

"We might as well go first and get it over with," said Satoshi. (They sang a song from one of Kari's favorite groups, Montgomery Gentry. The title was 'You do your thing'.)

After Satoshi and Daisuke sang their duet (which even they had to admit wasn't very good), Krad and Dark reluctantly got onto the stage and waited for the song to start.

**"_Well a man came on the 6'o clock news _**

_**Said somebody been shot, somebody's been abused,**_

_**Somebody blew up a building, somebody stole a car,**_

_**Somebody got away, somebody didn't get too far yeah,**_

_**They didn't get too far**_

**Grand pappy told my pappy back in my day, son**

**A man had to answer for the wicked that he done,**

**Take all the rope in Texas**

**Find a tall oak tree**

**Hang them high in the street for all the people to see that**

Justice is the one thing you should always find

You gotta saddle up your boys

You gotta draw a hard line

When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune

We'll all meet back at the local saloon

We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces

Singing whiskey for my men, Beer for my horses

_**We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds**_

**Too much corruption, too much crime in the streets**

_**Time for the long arm of the law to put a few more in the ground**_

**Send 'em all to their maker and he'll settle 'em down**

_**You can bet he'll set 'em down cause**_

Justice is the one thing you should always find

You gotta saddle up your boys

You gotta draw a hard line

When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune

We'll all meet back at the local saloon

We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces

Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses

You know

Justice is the one thing you should always find

You gotta saddle up your boys

You gotta draw a hard line

When the gun smoke settles we'll sing a victory tune

We'll all meet back at the local saloon

We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces

Singing whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."

(Toby Keith's 'Beer for my horses' off of his Unleashed CD.)

* * *

"Wow…looks like we have a winner!" laughed Kari.

**"So what was the prize anyway?"**

"You really want to know?" asked Kari, coolly. (Satoshi was trying not to laugh as he knew what was coming!)

Before Dark or Krad could react, she gave them both a kiss on the cheek. The two halves had identical reactions…their faces lit up redder than Daisuke when he was embarrassed! That was when Kari told them of another contest: whoever sang the best out of all of them got to spend an entire day with her without interruptions. (Or in Daisuke's case, an entire day with Riku without worrying 'bout Dark!)

In the end, Krad was the better singer…though he had mixed reactions about this. The rest of the night was both memorable and amusing. They went home, their hearts lighter than before.

_**(The next chapter will be the second-to-final chapter for Master of Angels. As soon as I post another fic, which is actually the screenplay Satoshi and Kari mentioned earlier, I will start up the second half of this fanfic. Stayed tuned to "Master of Angels: Rebirth")**_


	11. Gamer Wars

**Gamer wars**

The day that Krad choose to spend with Kari was on a school day when Satoshi wouldn't be home for hours. After Kari finished the dishes, she turned to Krad and said, "What do you want to do first Krad-kun?"

**"_Um…is your XBOX hooked up?"_**

"I think so. It was the last time I checked."

**"_That's a relief…"_**

"Krad, what're you…?"

**"_It's a little embarrassing to admit this…but I've…kinda become addicted to your Mech Assault game. It's very amusing!"_**

"I bet I know why you like it so much. You enjoy stepping on the humans with the Mechs and watching them be squished like bugs."

**"_How did you…?"_**

"It's one of MY favorite things about that game," laughed Kari.

**"…"**

"Which controller do you want?"

"_I'll take the blue one. Which one are you gonna use?"_

"The one that even Sato-kun doesn't know about…" grinned Kari. She left the room and came back with a device that looked very similar to the DVD player attachment needed to use DVDs on the XBOX. She took out the DVD piece and put in the one in her hand. She then sat down and slid the part into place which lit the controller in her other hand up.

"Ready?"

**"**_**Whenever you are,"** _replied Krad. She put in the disc and waited for the console to start the game. Much to her amusement, Krad was a pro at the video game. They played on the two player mode for about three hours before testing each other's skills in normal mode.

Krad was very skilled at the game. Kari had a hunch that this wasn't the first time he'd played each level. She gave him a look that made him say, _**"What?"**_

"How many times have you played this game?"

**"_A few times. Why?"_**

"How many times have you cleared the entire game?"

**"_At least twice…I think."_**

"You've been _very _bored without us around, haven't you."

**"_You have no idea."_**

"You'd be surprised. I know there's rarely anything worth watching on TV during the day, and that's why I usually spend my days writing fanfics. So I know exactly what you're talking about."

**"_What kind of fanfics…?"_**

"Always anime and manga. If you want, I can show you the website I post them on," said Kari.

**"_That…would be interesting. What're they like?"_**

"You'll have to read them and find out first," laughed Kari.

* * *

Once Krad read a few of her fanfics, he was very surprised. Most of them were quite amusing in his opinion; he could tell she really put thought into each of her chapters. Then he noticed something interesting. She seemed to be starting an entirely new fanfic titled _Of Darkness and Light_. He saw she wasn't looking and he decided to check it out. His eyes went up in shock as he read the beginning. Kari noticed this and grinned.

"Krad-kun, haven't you ever heard of the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

**"_Kari, what is…?!"_**

"If I had known you liked fanfics as much as I do, then I would have let you read the first chapter right after I finished it!" she laughed.

**"_Who are Yami and Sato? And why are the opposing clans named Hikawa and Niri?!"_**

"They're based off of people I know. I dare you to guess who Sato is based after."

**"_Master Satoshi?"_**

"If Sato is really Satoshi, then who would be Yami?"

**"_Me?"_**

"Yup…Dai is made after Daisuke and Hikari is after Dark."

**"_Shouldn't Dark be Yami and vice-versa?"_**

"That would make it too obvious. You wouldn't expect someone who resembles an angel to be named 'darkness' and another who looks like a fallen angel to be named 'light' now would you?"

**"_Then why would Satoshi-sama be Sato and Daisuke Dai?"_**

"It would be waaay too obvious who I was basing the characters off of, now wouldn't it? Besides, you should see what I turn the Harada twins into!"

**"_What?"_**

"They'll still be called Riku and Risa, only they won't be humans. Both the twins are half tanuki and half kitsune. Risa's more tanuki than kitsune and vice-versa."

**"_You're turning the Harada twins into half raccoon-dog, half fox-spirit?! And Risa will look more like a tanuki than fox? Now that is funny!"_** laughed Krad. (He could very easily picture Risa as a raccoon dog and Riku as a fox-spirit.)

"Risa is a lot more like a tanuki, don't you think? She behaves and acts a lot like one," Kari pointed out.

**"_She is mischievous and jolly…and most definitely gullible and absentminded."_**

"I'd say that her closest match to a Japanese spirit would be the tanuki, wouldn't you?"

**"_But Riku isn't very fox-like."_**

"Maybe she doesn't fit the fox-spirit criteria perfectly, but if you recall, kitsune have a tendency to transform into humans, usually females. And she tends to keep promises and repay debts, as well as having a very mischievous side. She also happens to be a voice of reason whenever her twin is concerned."

**"_She still isn't very fox-like,"_** Krad pointed out.

"Both tanuki and kitsune are known for being shape-shifters, yes? And both are woodland creatures who have a tendency to shape-shift into girls. So a half tanuki, half kitsune isn't too ridiculous," Kari countered. (Even Krad had to admit she had a valid point.)

**"_So is there any part that they play other than being minor characters?"_**

"Actually there is. Both the twins are Shrine Maidens in one of the two temples. Naturally Dai will have a crush on the fox-like twin, aka Riku, as well as the raccoon dog twin, aka Risa, will have a crush on Hikari. And to make things interesting, they both enjoy confusing the brothers by switching traits!"

**"_Meaning…?"_**

"Meaning Risa can switch from round tanuki ears to cat-like fox ears, as well as the tail. Same goes for Riku, though she doesn't do it very often," said Kari.

**"_And what about that fool Hiwatari?"_**

"Same name, same motive for adopting Satoshi. And naturally you will be portrayed as an evil monster until the true villain is revealed. The only ones who will even speak to you willingly will be the oracle sisters, Harada twins, Sato and the two Niri brothers."

**"_Why do I get the feeling that you're leaving one of the best parts out?"_**

"The main plotline won't be revealed until deeper into the story when things start to get too peaceful in the kingdom. The truth about the oracle sisters, as well as the reason why they oppose the king is going to surprise everyone."

**"_Any other plot twists?"_**

"Yup…one of the oracle sisters will have a crush with one of the older brothers from either Niri or Hikawa clans. Though I'm not telling you which sister or which brother it is…not without a fight," laughed Kari.

**"_Think you're ready to lose on the XBOX again?" _**asked Krad, changing the subject.

"This time we're gonna play Digimon World 4!" said Kari.

**"_Fair enough,"_** said Krad.

* * *

When Satoshi returned, he was greeted with a shock. Krad was playing video games against Kari! He stared at the two for about three seconds before he burst out laughing.

"Welcome back, Sato-kun!"

"I can't believe this! Krad is actually playing video games?!" Satoshi said laughing.

**"_What's so…hard to believe…about that? DAMN! Stupid droid killed me again!"_** griped Krad. (He was playing 'Star Wars Battlefront' with Kari. They were on the 'Rebel' side.)

"It's just that I never expected in my wildest dreams that you'd actually want to play modern virtual games! Now 'Go' or Shogi or even Chess I can believe, but video games? That is something even Dark wouldn't believe," answered Satoshi.

"Wanna take my spot and play with Krad? I'll make some snacks for you two," said Kari.

"Sure, why not. It's not like I'm in the mood to try and capture Dark tonight. Oh, wait…I forgot that we weren't allowed to help catch him."

"So I think that qualifies as a reason to stay here and have some fun, don't you?"

"Yup. So how do you play this game?"

**"_I think it would be easier if you pilot the vehicles and I shoot, wouldn't you agree?"_ **said Krad, setting the controller down.

(Satoshi went through the practice parts on the main screen before he and Krad began to play seriously.)

Kari made some popcorn, cookies and drinks and brought them out along with some dark chocolate. As it turned out, Krad and Satoshi made a very good tag-team. Satoshi drove the vehicles that they could pilot while Krad shot at the enemy. They were actually getting along and working together for once. (Kari was secretly surprised at this development.) When it was time for bed, Kari fell asleep and was very surprised to wake up in the middle of the night with Krad curled up next to her like a cat! She snuggled up against him and fell back asleep.

* * *

A week later, Kari did something that caught both Krad and Satoshi off-guard. _She took Krad out in public to a Gamer's Convention! _Satoshi had a bad feeling about the idea, but Kari wouldn't hear it. Krad was a bit…edgy...about going to a public place along Kari and not killing people. Kari had made Krad retract his wings and (much to his horror,) gave him a very overdue hair cut. (Mostly she just shortened his ponytail in the back to avoid comments.)

"Kari, I seriously doubt the wisdom in doing this…" said Krad nervously. (She also got him to change his voice as not to arouse suspicion.)

"Chill. I wouldn't have considered doing this if I didn't believe you could handle being out in public and not killing people. Besides, from what I hear, the convention has an exclusive version of Mech Assault 2. There's even a tournament to see who the best Mech Warrior is."

"Still…"

"And there's even a rumor that the winner of the tournament will be given the new version _before _it's released in stores!"

"No way!"

"That's what the others said when I heard it from them!" laughed Kari, amused by his sudden enthusiasm to go.

As the entered the convention center, they went straight to a reservation desk to get their passes. Krad was a bit taken aback by how long Kari's screen name was! (He also tried not to laugh at the name she picked for him!)

"Do you have reservations?" asked the clerk.

"We should be on the list."

"User name please," said the clerk.

"My screen name should be under 'sakurademonalchemist'."

"Let's see…sakurademonalchemist…ah, yes here you are. And what about your guest here?"

"His screen name is 'PsychoHikariBlond'."

The clerk found the name and handed them both their passes. They entered and right after they found their rooms Krad turned and said "PsychoHikariBlond?"

"You're psychotic, made by the Hikari clan, and happen to be blond. It was the first thing I could think of at the time!" said Kari amused.

"So when does this tournament start?" asked Krad, changing the subject.

"In an hour. You better get registered or they won't let you play. And I completely forgot to tell you this earlier, but the controllers for the tournament are completely different than what you're used to. They actually have these Mech suits that you'll use to play. You'll almost be literally _in _the game itself!"

"Sweet…I can't wait to play!" said Krad happily.

Krad registered early and was allowed to have a short trial run of the suits that would be used in the tournament, so he could get a feel for it. Kari wasn't joking when she said it would almost quite literally be in the game.

"Alright gamers! Welcome to the Japan Gaming Convention! In five minutes the Mech Assault Tournament will be underway, so if you haven't registered, then you better hurry!" said the announcement over the loudspeakers.

-----

Krad walked to the arena and waited until he got to the desk and was permitted to chose his Mech. He took his usual Mech suit, which had an invisibility feature as well as jet packs. It may have been a lighter Mech, but it had more maneuverability than the heavier and sturdier ones. He took his seat and waited for the game to start.

"_All right Mech warriors, since this is the first round, their will be no outside assistance from your teammates. When the elimination round has completed, then you will be allowed to have a teammate help you win with your opponents until the final round. Mech Warriors prepare for battle!" _said the judge as the tournament began.

Krad was having a blast as he blew away both the competition and (in the process) squashed many of the helpless humans that were in the way. He actually went out of his way to squish them; as a result, the others couldn't land a shot on him. He knew each of the Mechs venerable spots, having played the game twice and taking note of which place took the most damage by a single hit. The heavier Mechs took more damage from the pivot that supported the torso and moved them from side to side, while the lighter ones took more hits from the heavier weapons.

In the end, Krad and another were the only two left standing; he shot at the pivot with both light and heavy ammunition while simultaneously avoided blasts. Eventually he managed to land a critical blow and destroyed his competition. The judge came back on and said, "Winner of the first round, Kreg aka PsychoHikariBlond!"

Krad got out and grinned. Kari shot him a telepathic message… 'I had to think of a normal-sounding name so I went with Kreg. Sorry!'

At the end of the tournament, Krad was the overall winner with the most kills, the highest number of human-deaths-by-Mech, and the best strategy. He was given the new Mech Assault game and a trophy. He went home a very happy camper!

**(In the final chapter of Master of Angels, Krad, Dark and the two Tamers will return to the beginning and try to rewrite the past. Will they succeed without destroying their future? Find out in 'Master of Angels 2: Rebirth'. And I will be posting "Of Darkness and Light" right after I finish off this one first!)**


	12. Return to the past

**Return to the past**

"Hey Satoshi, where were you last week?" asked Risa.

"I went with Kari-nee to a convention. It was pretty fun."

"What kind of convention?" asked Daisuke.

"A gaming convention," answered Satoshi without looking up.

"Wait a sec…YOU play video games Hikari?!" said Takeshi in disbelief.

"Actually she dragged me to the convention. I just passed the time until it was over," said Satoshi annoyed.

"So where was it?"

"Tokyo of course. Where else would they hold a Mech Assault tournament?!" griped Satoshi.

"What's Mech Assault?"

"Ask Kari."

* * *

Satoshi returned to the house in a bored mood. He was greeted with the sight of Kari at her desk typing like crazy. When he approached, she saved and gave him her full attention.

"Whatcha doing sis?"

"Fanfic-ing. I was working on something Krad seemed to like when you came home. How was school?"

"Takeshi wouldn't get off my ass about the fact that you and Krad went to a gamer's convention last week."

"At least it kept Krad-kun from wanting to take over for a long time," Kari pointed out.

"True. So what kind of Fan fiction were you working on?"

"It's something to keep a sequel moving along without confusing my fans. One of the fanfics I made and posted has nearly 40,000 hits on it!"

"Woah…what's the title?"

"The Kyuubi brothers. It's a crossover…which ironically enough is what I usually make anyway," said Kari proudly.

"You must be popular then."

"You kidding? I was shocked when it got its first hit in less than ten minutes after I posted it! It has over 160 alerts and nearly 70 on the favorites count! It's my most popular fic to date!" said Kari happily.

"You must be a pretty good writer then," said Satoshi.

"That's what happens when you have nothing to do all day and happen to dream in anime!" laughed Kari.

"You can't dream in anime," retorted Satoshi.

_**Actually, she's not kidding. She really DOES dream in anime.**_

"What?! How is THAT possible?"

"Easy…I mostly watch anime, and since I normally have a hard time falling asleep at night, I tend to just lay down and daydream until I finally fall asleep. I can turn my nightmares into dreams simply by adding my favorite anime characters in it!"

"You keep surprising me every day, sis."

"I do my best!" laughed Kari.

"So how are we going to reverse time and rewrite the past?" asked Satoshi, changing the subject.

"Simple…we'll use the Toki no Buushin. It can return us to the past to remake the future, doesn't it?"

"I don't know. The Toki no Buushin was sealed and has been for a while. How are we…?" asked Satoshi.

"That…I haven't figured out. But give me enough time and I'll come up with something."

It took her a while, but eventually she figured it out. Even if the Toki no Buushin was sealed, they could still rewrite the past if it had an alternate power to work with. If Kari could find another powerful magic for the Second Hand of Time to use, then they could change the past! But where would they find a strong enough source of magic?

"Hey sis, how is the research going?" asked Satoshi.

"I found a way for us to change our past, but there's a catch," said Kari.

"What?"

"We'd need to find a powerful enough source of magic to use in place of the Toki no Buushin power. The thing is, I don't know what we could use…"

"I do. Though it will require the help of a certain nuisance known as Dork."

"The only question now is, are you and Krad willing to cooperate with Dark and Daisuke long enough to finish this?" said Kari.

_**I'll cooperate on one condition.**_

_What?_

_**When you two meet again I get to go to the gamer's convention all over again and win that tournament.**_

_Sounds reasonable enough to me. What about you Sato-kun?_

Fine…

_**YAY!!!!!**_

_I think we should take the entrance through the house rather than the fountain, don't you?  
__**Definitely.**_

* * *

"Daisuke, you got a minute?" asked Satoshi the next day.

"What is it, Hikari-kun?" asked Daisuke.

"Kari-nee and I need the help of you and your more obnoxious half."

"By that you mean you need Dark's help."

"Yup."

"What do you need help with?"

"Reversing this hell that we've unwittingly made."

"WHAT!"

"Kari's found a way to reverse the past, but we need the help of you and Dark to pull it off."

**"Why do you need our help? Krad and Kari should have more than enough magic to pull that off,"** said Dark.

**"_Normally I would agree…but there's something else he hasn't told you. Kari came up with the idea of allowing me to remember the events that lead up to this nightmare, to prevent history from repeating itself."_**

**"Is that all? I still don't see why you need our help."**

"The piece we need to use has already been sealed, and we need to pull this off without removing the seal in the process," explained Satoshi.

**"Ah…that makes more sense. The combined power of the Phantom Thief clan and the remaining Hikari clan is more powerful than either working alone. And the fact that the piece is already sealed makes it harder to keep it sealed and still use its ability. But what do we get out of this?"**

"Krad will have something to keep his mind off of destroying you. He still wants to go to that Gamer's convention and win like he did this time. Plus, there's something that Kari told me that should catch your attention," said Satoshi.

**"What?"**

"The thing we'll use to ensure that we meet each other again will be a sort of play. Krad already has an idea of what it'll be about and refuses to give me any hints. He did say that it will definitely catch your interest, seeing as how you and Daisuke are going to be in it. That, and that the Harada twins will be in it as well," said Satoshi.

**"Oh? And what part will Risa and Riku play?" **asked Dark, now interested.

**"**_**You'll love this…"** _said Krad as he told Dark what they would play. The Phantom Thief listened and when he heard what Kari had in mind, he burst out laughing.

**"You've got my interest! That play will definitely be worth reading when this is over!"** said Dark, laughing.

"All right, so do we have a deal, Dark and Daisuke?" asked Kari.

"Yup…Dark said he's behind you all the way with this," said Daisuke.

"Good…now for the part I didn't mention to Satoshi earlier…" said Kari.

"So let me get this straight. We're going back to when we first met, only this time it'll be in the library?" repeated Satoshi, surprised.

"Yup. It's the perfect place to read a screen play made by yours truly. Besides, the only other person who's even read a part of it is Krad!"

"I hope this works," said Daisuke nervously.

**"If it doesn't, then we won't get a second shot. I hope you two know what you're doing…" **said Dark.

"I do. Though the next time around I'll actually be able to use magic _before_ I come to Japan," said Kari.

**"I've been meaning to ask, but is Kari your real name?"**

"No…I just preferred that to Anne Nichols. Would you have preferred I go by my usual alias of Sakura Elric?" countered Kari.

**"Where'd you come up with a name like that?!"**

"I've always liked the name Sakura, ever since I watched the series 'Cardcaptors'. And when I first watched Full Metal Alchemist, I decided that combining the main character's names would be a great alias."

"If you thought the name is weird Dark, you should see her username online," chuckled Satoshi.

**"What's her 'username'? What is a username anyway?!"**

"It's sakurademonalchemist. Don't look at me like that!" scolded Kari.

"And a username is sort of like an alias you use on the internet," answered Satoshi.

"Why's it so long?" asked Daisuke.

"Well, the first time I used it I thought I'd never be able to remember how it was spelled. But then I started using it a LOT and now I can spell it without looking it up once. Hell, I usually use that one as a username on sites if it lets me get away with it," shrugged Kari.

**"I've also been wondering where you and Krad went to for an entire week,"** said Dark.

**"_Gamer's convention."_**

**"WHAT!"**

"Not only did we go to a Gamer Convention, but Krad also won the top prize in the tournament! He was one happy psychotic alter ego when we got back!" laughed Satoshi.

**"What tournament?"**

**"_It was a Mech Assault tournament and I pretty much blew away the competition. I got a trophy and the new Mech Assault 2 before it was even released!"_**

**"Why did you go there?"**

"Krad gets bored when we're not around and he played games on my console. As a result, he became a hard-core gaming addict like my brother-in-law and oldest nephew."

"_You have a brother-in-law?"_

"My older sister got married, idiot," said Kari annoyed.

"Let's get the ceremony over…" interrupted Satoshi.

_Toki no Buushin, hear our cry! Return us to the beginning so we may correct this disaster! Allow only the blond Koko-Yoko to remember the past and to help prevent this time from repeating itself!_

The Toki no Buushin, or 'Second Hand of Time', heard their plea and allowed the past to be rewritten. Though it had been sealed, the power from all five of the figures: Satoshi, Kari, Krad, Daisuke and Dark, allowed her to reverse the past and the future to be rewritten. Now only fate would decide how things would occur this time around…


End file.
